Milhollin Ready for First Season on Army Black Knights Football Team … Finally

Josh Milhollin has developed resilience and perseverance skills beyond his years.

The 2024 Fellowship Christian School graduate is headed to West Point, N.Y., to begin basic training at the United States Military Academy. Basic training begins June 29. Milhollin will head to West Point and arrive on June 27 to prepare.

“We arrive that day [June 29] at 8:30 a.m., and we’ll have about 30 seconds to say goodbye to our families, and then jump into basic training,” he said. “We’ll lock in quickly, say yes sir and don’t ask questions. It’ll be my second time at training as we had basic at prep school [in summer of 2024]. I’ll get pulled out a week or two early for two weeks of football camp. All cadets have a 47-month journey. You must make it through the whole basic training, which is why I came home last summer. This is the first time that I am not sad about that. My time is here now. When I first got sent home it was the hardest news, but in the end the year flew by.”

Basic training is scheduled for six weeks, but Milhollin will leave early to begin football camp for the NCAA Division I Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy. Army kicks off the season on Sept. 5 against Bryant University at home.

Army is coming off a very strong season.

The Black Knights finished 12-2 in 2024 and were 7-6 in 2025, including a 41-16 victory over UConn in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston, Mass., on Dec. 27, 2025.

Due to an emergency appendectomy last summer, Milhollin’s plebe year – or basic training year – at West Point was delayed to June 2026. Due to U.S. Military Academy rules, he could not start basic training late following recovery from surgery last summer. But he made the most of his delay and rose from the adversity.

During his year-long wait, Milhollin took college classes and served as an assistant coach for the FCS varsity football team and working with many veteran coaches from both the college and scholastic levels.

“It kept me in a leadership position,” he said. “West Point kind of forces you into that, so Fellowship really kept me in one. It took a lot getting used too [going from player to coach], but it showed me how much coaches care about their players. It was a great staff to be a part of and learn from. It went very well. I also learned what players look for from their coaches, and how coaches tend to their team’s needs. You learn to put the team first. That’s a lot of what I learned.”

Despite a year-long wait, Milhollin never really thought about giving up his dream to play football at Army.

“I’ve been there twice before, and the second time did not work,” Milhollin said. “But I have been waiting an entire year for the third time [at basic]. I am very ready! It’s kind of like seeing light at the end of the tunnel.”

Spending a year on the Fellowship staff taught Milhollin a lot about football.

“That experience will make me a better teammate and a better player,” he said.

Following graduation from FCS, Milhollin spent a year at the U.S. Military Preparatory School, where he was a member of the football team. The prep school, located on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, has its own football team with a coaching staff comprised of fathers, West Point graduates who became athletic department interns and college coaches separate from the Army staff.

Milhollin’s excited to see his teammates from prep school.

“I can’t wait to see the guys again,” Milhollin said.

“My coaches suggested prep school last year,” he said following the 2024-25 school year. “It helps you prepare for the physical challenges of military training and college football. We had a few games last year. We played some Division III schools and scrimmaged the Army JV team. It really helped me get adjusted to the Army campus. My wide receivers coach is a 2024 graduate of West Point. It was awesome. He’s a great Christian man and we developed a great player-coach relationship.”

(Photo by Milo Falcon)