For North Texas assistant coach Chuck Petersen, Saturday’s game against Army will be like turning back the clock in his football career.

Petersen played Army every season for four years when he was a defensive back at Air Force and then was on the sidelines for 18 seasons while as an assistant coach with the Falcons.

The time Petersen spent at Air Force gave him a deep appreciation for all that the United States service academies stand for and the sacrifices their players make. Petersen has shared his unique perspective with UNT’s players during a week in which his role with the team has expanded due to his knowledge of what the Mean Green will face from Army’s triple option offense.

“I was talking to the guys the other day, and this is my 23^rd time as a player or coach to play those guys,” Petersen said. “I know the commitment their kids make every day and have a lot of respect for what they do now and what they are going to do in the near future.”

The harsh reality is that several of the seniors on Army’s team could be serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in a matter of months.

The realities Army’s players face was magnified earlier this month when 13 people were killed in a shooting at Fort Hood. UNT will honor military personnel who responded to the shooting and the base’s Commanding General Robert Cone will participate in the pre-game coin toss.

Army cadets will parachute in with the game ball just before kickoff.

“It will be a great opportunity to honor our veterans,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “With the unfortunate incident that happened at Fort Hood, it’s a chance to pay our respect to those folks, and every military person who helps secure our safety every day.”

Petersen is one of those veterans. He played for Fort Worth Eastern Hills and was a letterman at defensive back at Air Force from 1980-84, one of the better stretches for the Falcons in their history.

Air Force beat Vanderbilt in the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1982 before knocking off Mississippi and Virginia Tech in the Independence Bowl in 1983 and 1984, respectively. The Falcons also won the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy that goes to the winner of the round-robin series between Air Force, Army and Navy in 1982 and 1983.

Petersen served at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida before becoming a coach. Seeing fellow veterans honored Saturday would have been special for Petersen anyway, but will be even more meaningful because of the on-going conflicts in the Middle East and the shootings at Fort Hood.

“It will absolutely be special to see those people honored,” Petersen said of a group of soldiers that will attend the game. “You don’t ever want to see something like that happen, but you know when you serve in the military, you put yourself in harm’s way so that we can play our games. There is no question it is going to be a special day.”

Petersen joined Air Force’s coaching staff after his service time and worked under legendary coach Fisher DeBerry. He served as Air Force’s offensive coordinator for seven seasons and helped lead the Falcons to one of the best seasons in school history in 1998.

Air Force finished 12-1, hammered Washington 45-25 in the O’ahu Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 10 nationally.

Petersen helped recruit some of the best players of that era in Air Force football out of Texas, where Dodge was an up-and-coming high school coach.

“Chuck has recruited every school that I have ever been a head coach at from Cameron to Carrollton Newman Smith to Fossil Ridge all the way through [Southlake] Carroll,” Dodge said. “When I got the job here, he was available. I snatched him up as quick as I could not only because he is a fabulous football coach, but also because I promise parents that I will surround their sons with really good men. He is the leader of the pack in that regard. I am glad my son gets a chance to be around him every day.”

Petersen has coached UNT’s safeties throughout his tenure with the Mean Green and has also served as the Mean Green’s recruiting coordinator. He oversaw UNT’s recruiting efforts in 2008 that produced a class Scout.com and Rivals.com ranked first and third, respectively, among Sun Belt schools.

UNT has relied on Petersen even more than usual from a coaching perspective this week because of the knowledge he gained of triple option football over the course of his playing and coaching careers.

“Chuck knows a lot about football and he has been the go-to guy with questions this week,” UNT defensive end Eddrick Gilmore said. “We all really like him as a coach.”

There probably isn’t a player on UNT’s roster who has known Petersen for longer than Riley Dodge, who used to see him stop by his father’s field house each season no matter where he was coaching to talk about players who might be a fit for the Air Force Academy.

And just like a lot of other players on UNT’s roster, Riley Dodge can tell a difference in Petersen this week.

“You can tell he has been looking forward to this,” Dodge said. “He was at Air Force for a long time and played these guys [Army] a lot. He has been a huge help this week. He’s been on the top of his game. You can tell he knows what he is talking about when it comes to what Army does.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.