That's because the longtime head football coach for the Air Force Academy is walking on air from the anticipation of the coming season.

Why he's so excited is anyone's guess. He only has eight returning starters off last year's Western Athletic Conference co-championship team, and a meager five home games, but DeBerry firmly believes the Falcons will contend for the title once more.

"This team gives me a good feeling all over," DeBerry said after learning the media picked his Falcons to finish second in the Pacific Division chase.

"Just how many wins we'll have when we count them up at the end of the season, I'm not sure," he said. "But we'll be right in the middle of all of them every step of the way."

DeBerry has always had a way with words. The slogan-conscious coach believes common goals and team unity are keys to certain success, and he has the numbers to back up his theory.

Since succeeding current Rice head coach Ken Hatfield in 1984, DeBerry has won 92 games and has had only two losing seasons.

He took the Falcons to the Copper Bowl last winter, only to lose to Texas Tech, 55-41, to drop his bowl record at Air Force to 3-4.

This year, the Falcons only have three starters back on offense, but one of them is senior quarterback Beau Morgan. In his junior season, Morgan became just the eighth player in Division I history to throw for at least 1,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a single season.

The other two returning starters are offensive guard Carlton Hendrix and fullback Nakia Addison. Addison rushed for 328 yards and three touchdowns last year.

"We've also lost most of our linemen, but I still believe this group has a chance to be real good," DeBerry said. "The good thing about our offense is having Beau back. He can make a lot of guys around him look good."

Beau Morgan rushed and passed for more than 1,000 yards each last season.

The senior from Carrollton, Texas, led the WAC last year in touchdowns with 35. He also became the first quarterback in Air Force history to rush for more than 200 yards and pass for more than 100 in the victory over Hawaii last November.

Despite so few recognizable faces around him, Morgan believes the Falcons could surprise some folks. For him, the Copper Bowl was a nice postseason trip, but Morgan wants to go to the Holiday Bowl before he's through running the option attack.

"Everybody can't wait to get back to work," said Morgan, who has 3,923 yards in total offense for his career. "We've got a lot of young guys on this team, but they're ready to show everyone what they can do on the field."

For that to happen, the Falcons need the defense to come through. DeBerry welcomes five returning starters on that side of the football, including his top three down linemen. The tough part will be replacing all four starters in the secondary.

"That's kind of scary," DeBerry conceded. "In this league, you need to have guys who can shadow your opponents. Right now, our secondary is kind of wide-open, but we should solidify things during fall camp."

Air Force also faces some problems in the kicking game. Spring didn't clear up the picture much. Punter Steve Carr and place-kicker Randy Roberts are gone. Look for Jason Kirkland and Dallas Thompson to come through over the next few weeks.

"We definitely have a lot of question marks," DeBerry said. "You can't lose as many players as we have and not face that challenge. But as I've said, I like what we have coming back to fill those holes. No matter what, we'll be competitive, and I believe win our fair share of football games."

Game day Oct. 26
Where Colorado Springs, CO
Starters back 8
Last meeting AFA 43, UH 28
All-time vs. UH 9-5-1