Locksley: It's not 'discipline,' it's 'playing smart'

He is just a little bit misunderstood — that’s all.

UNM head football coach Mike Locksley stressed discipline within his program, after the Lobos (0-2) fell to Texas Tech 52-17 on Saturday.
At his weekly news conference Tuesday, Locksley said discipline isn’t necessarily the right word.

“First of all, I think in football terms, when you talk about ‘discipline,’ sometimes that’s misconstrued,” Locksley said. “For me, I bet you could also substitute that word to ‘not playing smart.’”

So then, Locksley disciplined defensive lineman Ugo Uzodinma this week for not playing smart. Uzodinma was ejected from the Tech game on Saturday for kicking another player during a dead ball situation, and Locksley announced Uzodinma will not play against Utah on Saturday.
“I felt (it) was a selfish penalty,” Locksely said. “That is not who he typically is.”

Again, Locksley said he will stress reducing mistakes on the football field this week in practice, especially in light of the 16 penalties for 145 yards the Lobos had against the Red Raiders.

“We have done quite a bit of running,” Locksley said. “Some of the other penalties when you get pass interferences, and we had a couple of late hits out of bounds that when you watch on the tape, you know those are questionable calls. I think our team understands the importance, and they did pay the price with the way they ran, and we will continue to do that or make the change of bringing a guy out.”
Some of Locksley’s young players agreed they have to play quality football.

So far, A.J. Butler, who made the transition from tailback to safety in the offseason, has played tremendous in UNM’s first two games. Against Oregon, Butler had 10 tackles and against Texas Tech made his first collegiate start at safety.
Butler said that the Lobos have to stay within the football realm.

“We have to stay in our playbooks,” Butler said. “Whatever our assignments are, we have got to stay fundamentally sound and whatever techniques it takes. Even if I’ve got to step with my left foot, I have got to do that, and it’s that simple. But, you know, as the game goes on, with the adrenaline rush, you kind of forget those things.”

What the Lobos can’t forget is their opponent this Saturday: Utah, the No. 14 team in the country, rolls into Albuquerque.
Locksley said there is still a lot of work to be done this season.

“We look forward to going out, like we always do,” he said. “We prepare well, and I think our players have given energy. And the part that we have to continue to correct is playing smart football. I think that is the missing piece for this inexperienced football team.”