by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
When the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading rusher, DonTrell Moore, graduated in May 2006, UNM football was in need of a replacement.
Six-foot, 229-pound junior tailback Rodney Ferguson grabbed the torch from Moore and bulldozed his way to a 1,000-yard season and a first team All-MWC selection.
Ferguson provided UNM with the league's top individual rusher for the third time in the last four years.
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Head coach Rocky Long said Ferguson has played well at the position, but Moore left big shoes to fill.
"Rodney and DonTrell are both very good athletes," he said. "Rodney was a 1,000-yard rusher last year, but DonTrell had four seasons of 1,000 yards. I think Rodney has quite a ways to go to catch up to DonTrell."
Ferguson came to UNM after playing at Albuquerque Manzano High School, where he led the state in rushing for three years.
Ferguson said that during his freshman season, he didn't expect much playing time. Instead, Ferguson focused on getting stronger and faster. He ended up impressing the coaches enough to skip out on a red shirt and appeared in eight games, mostly on special teams.
Long said Ferguson is a great athlete to coach.
"He listens and tries to implement everything you tell him," he said. "Being a running back, it takes natural instincts, and Rodney's got that going for him, as well."
At the end of the season, he finished with 11 carries for 48 yards. He also recorded his first career touchdown against Navy in the Emerald Bowl.
The following year, Ferguson was injured and received a medical red shirt.
Ferguson said he had an intense battle for the starting running back job and worked hard to fill the position left by Moore.
"I worked out twice a day, and I did the things I needed to do," Ferguson said. "I asked coach what I needed to do to be the starter, and I did what he told me to do."
Long said Ferguson's hard work kept his injury from getting the best of him.
"Rodney did a great job in rehab and getting back into shape," Long said. "He worked hard every day on it. I didn't even notice that he was injured, and it certainly didn't hinder him at all during tryouts."
The offensive coordinating job has been a coaching carousel for Long throughout Ferguson's tenure. The offense, as well as its coordinator, has changed three of the last four years. From Bob Toledo's offensive schemes to first-year coordinator Dave Baldwin's new system, Ferguson hasn't struggled with his assignments.
"It hasn't been that bad for me," he said. "If you want to learn it, you can learn it. If you're going to play football, you have to be able to adapt to your circumstances."
Ferguson is one of the most fit runners in the MWC and was rarely brought down by defenders. He is also explosive when in the open field and took a lot of time this summer improving his speed.
"After spring ball, I went to Atlanta for a speed camp and worked on my speed for about a month," he said. "I did fast-foot drills, speed technique drills, quickness lifting and other drills like that. Then I came back to Albuquerque and worked even harder."
Ferguson said he prefers to lead by example and will look toward a season in which he has an opportunity to show the country that he is an example of another great running back to come out of New Mexico.
However, his focus right now is the upcoming season.
"We're more confident this year," he said. "We feel we have a chance for a conference championship and a bowl game win. We're pushing ourselves a bit harder this year."
Long also holds high expectations for Ferguson this year.
"I think Rodney has performed well during our preseason camp," he said. "If the big guys do their job in the front, he should be a force to be reckoned with in the MWC."
