Six days of the week, Aris Comeaux is equal parts student, soldier, artist and poet. But on Saturdays, the introverted Comeaux is only one thing: Army's best football player.

You won't hear him tell it that way, but there isn't much disputing it this season. Though Army, like Navy, has struggled extensively this season -- both are 1-10 -- Comeaux has been one of the few bright spots for the Black Knights, catching 24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns.

He also has returned two punts for touchdowns, and his senior leadership has helped provide some stability to an offense that has struggled through injuries. Though Comeaux has missed the past three games with injuries, he expects to play Saturday against the Mids.

"Aris is a true receiver," said Army coach Todd Berry. "He can run, jump, catch, is physical and has great ball presence. He's given us consistency and leadership."

It hasn't been easy. Comeaux began the season with high anticipation, in part because he and quarterback Reggie Nevels had developed a symbiotic relationship during spring drills and two-a-day fall practices.

But when Nevels tore his hamstring in Army's second game, against Holy Cross, a quarterback carousel began that has been spinning ever since. Army has used five players at the position this season.

"We haven't had a quarterback as much as we've had a pitching rotation," Berry said.

Said Comeaux: "It's a little frustrating and a little trying sometimes. When you have a consistent leader at the quarterback position, it's easier for a team to jell. We haven't meshed like we'd hoped. One week we might have it, and another it might come apart."

A team captain and three-year starter, Comeaux has certainly made the most of his time at Army, where he also competes in track and is the Patriot League's defending champion in the 55-meter indoor hurdles.

But that he even ended up at West Point is a story in itself.

Growing up in Tulsa, Okla., as the son of a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves, Comeaux always dreamed of attending a military academy to play football. He just figured it would be the Air Force Academy.

Comeaux wanted to fly and to play for a program that has had considerable stability and success. With a strong academic background, he looked like a shoo-in to become a Falcon.

That all changed when Air Force looked at Comeaux's medical questionnaire as part of the admissions process. At a young age, Comeaux had been diagnosed with asthma by the family pediatrician, and though he no longer used an inhaler, the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board deemed him unfit for the academy.

As it turned out, Comeaux never had asthma. After undergoing tests to determine the ailment's severity, doctors told him he'd been misdiagnosed all those years ago. But by that time, Air Force wasn't interested in recruiting him anymore.

"I guess I wasn't a high commodity for them," Comeaux said.

Instead, a friend tipped off Army's coaching staff to Comeaux's situation, and before long he was a Black Knight.

"I'd heard West Point was harder, that it had higher standards, but when I came up here for my recruiting trip, I had a really good time," Comeaux said. "I found out people there actually relaxed."

Adjusting to college football turned out to be a breeze. By the end of his sophomore year, he had emerged as a starter, and in his junior year he became an impact player.

His 66 career receptions put him ninth all time in Army's record books, and his 19.4 punt-return average this season would be second in the country if he had enough attempts to qualify.

Still, there is a softer side to Comeaux, an artistic side that yearns to be fed once his football career ends. Comeaux writes poetry in his spare time, pouring his thoughts onto paper late at night in his dorm. He also loves to draw, and has been known to labor over sketches of his favorite comic book characters for hours.

"This summer, I bought a sketch pad and committed to myself to draw," Comeaux said. "I think it's something that continues to make me unique. It's just another one of the gifts God has given me. I look at drawing, poetry and football as all different ways for me to express myself. I just like to create things."

Army vs. Navy

Records:Army 1-10; Navy 1-10.

Site:Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.

When:Saturday, noon

TV/Radio: Chs. 13, 9/WJFK (1300 AM), WNAV (1430 AM)

Line:Navy by 3 1/2