Staff Report
Mike Locksley has brought change to the UNM football team.
The change is in the form of searching for players to help bring New Mexico its first Mountain West Conference championship.
And it all started on Wednesday, which was National Signing Day for college football recruits. The new Lobo regime was steadfast at work, securing the future of UNM football. The Lobos' 2009 signing class consists of 19 players - five coming from Texas. Eighteen of the signees are right out of high school, and one is a transfer.
Most big-name recruits went to schools such as Alabama, Notre Dame and USC, but Locksley said the Lobos signed a fine crop of talent.
"In my mind, this class is as good as any class I have been a part of," Locksley told GoLobos.com. "And in terms of the time we spent with recruiting and being on a short time schedule, I got to give a lot of credit to my staff. The job they have done in such a short time has made it possible."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Lobos' top recruit is Derrell Person from Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C.
Person - on ESPNU's Top Recruits - is the 39th best receiver in the nation coming out of high school.
"Derrell probably could be playing D-I basketball," Locksley said. "But we are happy he decided to be a football player." He has played only two seasons of football, but his tremendous athletic ability quickly turned him into one of the top recruiting athletes in the D.C. area."
EPSN.com's report said Person is "a big target that has good initial quickness off the line."
Locksley also snagged Emmanuel Yeager from the D.C. area.
Yeager played quarterback at Calvin Coolidge High School with Person and was the 38th ranked quarterback on ESPN.com.
"We had to go find some playmakers. The offensive guys we have signed are all explosive-type athletes who are big-play, game-changing type players," Locksley said. "Our offense needs playmakers, and we found some. We also needed some big guys who are athletic, and we found them. We made some steals."
Long's tradition of plucking recruiting gems from New Mexico, especially on the defensive side of the ball, was carried on by Locksley in his first recruiting class. One of the Lobos' top defensive recruits is a New Mexico native.
Dallas Bollema played linebacker at Artesia High School. The Lobos also acquired Dante Caro, who was the starting quarterback for the 5A State Champion Las Cruces Bulldawgs.
Caro threw for nearly 2,000 yards and chucked 16 touchdowns in his senior season. He also rushed for 1,000 yards.
Bollema is a three-year starter at the linebacker position, and in 2008, he was named the New Mexico Defensive Player of the Year by PrepNewMexico.com.
"Dallas is another Lobo with a strong résumé of skills and accomplishments," Locksley said. "He is a proven scholar, a standout basketball player and obviously one of the top football players in New Mexico. One of our recruiting goals as Lobos is to get the very best local players, and landing Dallas is a tremendous step in that direction."
