When I was a youth Ft. Knox was a football power. Now I don't hear much from them. What kind of program do they have now? Is it true that Coach Combs, formerly of Lewis County, is coaching there now? If so, in what capacity and how is he doing?

The military eased restrictions on soldiers living on post, which means a lot of them

live off the installation and can attend other schools in Hardin County.

 

The same thing happened at Fort Campbell in the early 1990s. They were just downright bad in the mid-90s.

Coach Combs is a class individual and a good coach, he is not a clock watcher, he will work the hours and very hard for those boys, give him time he will get it going. Seen the kids at a camp this summer they have alot of work to do, they go alot slower than they should.

The military eased restrictions on soldiers living on post, which means a lot of them

live off the installation and can attend other schools in Hardin County.

 

The same thing happened at Fort Campbell in the early 1990s. They were just downright bad in the mid-90s.

 

While some families still like to live off base, there are

many who choose to remain on post and occupy the beautiful new "subdivision type housing" at Fort Knox instead of the old quarters of which many have been or are in the process of being torn down. With the BRAC realignment even more families will soon be moved to Ft. Knox and the student population of Ft. Knox DOD school system should greatly expand once again.

However, I believe that the waning of Ft. Knox football began with the loss of Coach Joe Jaggers to the neighboring North Hardin High School in Radcliff. Joe had his pick of talent in this large high school of about 2200 students. And he knew what to do with it. Coach Jaggers is a member of the KHSAA Sports Hall of Fame and was a highly successful football coach of winning programs at different schools throughout the state. His Trigg County teams won back-to-back Class A titles in '71 and '72; at Fort Knox his teams won Class AA championships in '83, '88, and '90 and were runners-up in '84. His teams were regional champions 12 times.

And he had two sons who were fantastic football players: Marty is coaching in Harrodsburg and the younger Crad is in his first year as coach of North Hardin where, incidentally, I read that he won his first game, knocking off Shelby County.

I'd like to see Ft. Knox become competitive once again, but it's going to be hard to replace an icon like Joe Jaggers. Maybe this new coaching staff will be a good beginning.

Brandon Combs is a solid individual and coach. If nothing else, he knows how to coach hand-to-hand combat on the offensive and defensive lines.

 

I think "base dynamic" has much to do with differences between Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell. Ft. Campbell has whole units, meaning that the unit stays in place with one another for transfers and stations, and families may remain in one locale for some time. Ft. Knox is made up of a lot of component units that are constantly transferring in and out as support for other military units around the world. I know an awful lot of players for Knox who were there one year and gone the next. Two years ago, they had a completely different offensive line even though only one player had graduated.

While some families still like to live off base, there are

many who choose to remain on post and occupy the beautiful new "subdivision type housing" at Fort Knox instead of the old quarters of which many have been or are in the process of being torn down. With the BRAC realignment even more families will soon be moved to Ft. Knox and the student population of Ft. Knox DOD school system should greatly expand once again.

However, I believe that the waning of Ft. Knox football began with the loss of Coach Joe Jaggers to the neighboring North Hardin High School in Radcliff. Joe had his pick of talent in this large high school of about 2200 students. And he knew what to do with it. Coach Jaggers is a member of the KHSAA Sports Hall of Fame and was a highly successful football coach of winning programs at different schools throughout the state. His Trigg County teams won back-to-back Class A titles in '71 and '72; at Fort Knox his teams won Class AA championships in '83, '88, and '90 and were runners-up in '84. His teams were regional champions 12 times.

And he had two sons who were fantastic football players: Marty is coaching in Harrodsburg and the younger Crad is in his first year as coach of North Hardin where, incidentally, I read that he won his first game, knocking off Shelby County.

I'd like to see Ft. Knox become competitive once again, but it's going to be hard to replace an icon like Joe Jaggers. Maybe this new coaching staff will be a good beginning.

 

He won state titles at places where they never won before and haven't won one since he left.

I think the reasons for Ft Knox’s drop off in football success has a lot to do with the structure and basing changes in the Army as well as coaching. FK is primarily a training instillation with a few small “combat” or permanent party units assigned there, while Ft Campbell has an entire division plus several other large “combat” units stationed there. This in itself leads to a larger pool of players at Ft Campbell vs Ft Knox even though the schools might be closer in size and many of families at each post live off post and attend public schools. The rumor is that the Army might station more units at Ft Knox in the future which should help the program some, but the post will not be nearly as large, in terms of permanent part personnel, as Ft Campbell.

 

As far as the coaching, Coach Jaggers has already been talked about and he clearly made a difference in the Ft Knox program. Ft Campbell has undergone the same success and struggles as Ft Knox with coaching. In the 70s & 80s Coach Patterson led the Falcons to three state championships and routinely had successful teams. After Coach Patterson left the Falcons struggled until Coach Berner took over seven years ago and he has since led the Falcons in 7 straight winning seasons and a state championship last year. So, I do think coaching is a huge piece of the puzzle.

 

The other factor with any program is that success leads to more kids wanting to play. Ft Campbell has about twice as many Freshman come out as Sophomores on the team this year after winning the championship last year. Some kids will not put out the effort of weight lifting, two-a-days, etc… to go out loose 9 or 10 games every year. While other kids will put forth the effort, even if they never get to play anything but mop-up duty or JV, if they can be part of a successful program.

I think the reasons for Ft Knox’s drop off in football success has a lot to do with the structure and basing changes in the Army as well as coaching. FK is primarily a training instillation with a few small “combat” or permanent party units assigned there, while Ft Campbell has an entire division plus several other large “combat” units stationed there. This in itself leads to a larger pool of players at Ft Campbell vs Ft Knox even though the schools might be closer in size and many of families at each post live off post and attend public schools. The rumor is that the Army might station more units at Ft Knox in the future which should help the program some, but the post will not be nearly as large, in terms of permanent part personnel, as Ft Campbell.

 

As far as the coaching, Coach Jaggers has already been talked about and he clearly made a difference in the Ft Knox program. Ft Campbell has undergone the same success and struggles as Ft Knox with coaching. In the 70s & 80s Coach Patterson led the Falcons to three state championships and routinely had successful teams. After Coach Patterson left the Falcons struggled until Coach Berner took over seven years ago and he has since led the Falcons in 7 straight winning seasons and a state championship last year. So, I do think coaching is a huge piece of the puzzle.

 

The other factor with any program is that success leads to more kids wanting to play. Ft Campbell has about twice as many Freshman come out as Sophomores on the team this year after winning the championship last year. Some kids will not put out the effort of weight lifting, two-a-days, etc… to go out loose 9 or 10 games every year. While other kids will put forth the effort, even if they never get to play anything but mop-up duty or JV, if they can be part of a successful program.

 

So glad to see the discussion of Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell schools' football programs. A lot of the younger students and players on our message boards aren't familiar with our big military posts and their high schools. Since I live here, I know more about Ft. Knox than Campbell. Ft. Knox covers over 109,000 acres (170+ sq. mi.) spread across three counties and is Kentucky's 7th largest urban community. One town, Muldraugh, is completely encircled by the reservation. Its census shows 23,000 soldiers and families with a day-time population of over 33,000 (cilivian workers, etc.) M-F. And, of course, with the new BRAC realignment, many more families are soon expected. The construction crews are practically working night and day to get new housing ready on post, including a new, state-of-the-art, $16M Ft. Knox High School to be completed in May 2009. Also, the surrounding communities are building new homes and new schools, especially in Hardin County, anticipating the added growth. I have a lot of friends associated now and formerly with the Fort Knox program. So, it'd be great to see them rise again to their fame of yore. Go Eagles!

Wasn't Fort Knox state runner-up in the mid-90's when they had Derrick Homer?

Wasn't Fort Knox state runner-up in the mid-90's when they had Derrick Homer?

 

Yes, Homer played from 93-96. Ft Knox won the 2A state title in 83, 88, & 90 and was the runner-up in 84 & 96,