From towels to touchdowns: Former manager gets in the game

Last year, around this time, Levi Jaeckel was placing basketballs on racks and taking orders from the UNM men’s basketball team’s coaching staff.

This spring, however, Jaeckel is running routes and catching passes for the UNM football team. The converted basketball manager is now a wide receiver.

“I am not going to lie. It’s a lot of learning and I didn’t know what I really expected, but it was a lot more learning than I had initially expected,” Jaeckel said. “I actually only played two years in high school. I played two years in high school and my senior year. I went to a small high school and we only had about 30 people on the team. So, I played wide receiver, defensive back, safety and various special team’s players and that was because we didn’t have that many players.”
The transition from being on the sidelines to being on the field in a different sport hasn’t been hard for Jaeckel.

On Saturday at the second football scrimmage in a goal-line situation, Jaeckel ran a route about three yards deep into the end zone. Quarterback Tate Smith found Jaeckel open and Jaeckel made a diving, tip-toe grab for a touchdown.

“It was a decent catch, I guess,” Jaeckel said. “The funny thing is I think that I ran the wrong route, to be honest. It was the wrong route, but it ended up OK. Hopefully, that mistake doesn’t come back and bite me someday. But hey, I made the catch and touchdown.”

Before spring practice began, Jaeckel joined the football team as a manager. He asked Locksley if he could walk on the team.
Locksley said he and the teammates have accepted Jaeckel’s presence on the field.

“Honestly, we are really thin and limited with bodies, especially in the spring and, you know, Levi is maximizing his opportunities,” Locksley said. “But, I mean, once you’re on my team, you’re one of mine. It was an immediate embrace, and he will have a role and will dictate his own role. We are happy to have him a part of this team.”

And, let it be known, Jaeckel is definitely a valuable part of the team.
After practice, reporters were eager to speak with Jaeckel. His teammates, mostly members of the wide receiving corps, joked with Jaeckel that he has become a big-time player.

“Those guys — they are great guys,” Jaeckel said. “So far I haven’t had any trouble with any of the guys on the team and those wideouts. They are awesome, all of them.”
Although Jaeckel is starting over again, he doesn’t mind the hard work.

“I am starting at the bottom, so, you know, what do you expect?” Jaeckel said. “I came to the program this past January, and every day I started at the bottom. I mean, I come in to practice, and I just do what they tell me to do and go all out.”