Though former head football coach Mike Locksley might be gone, the football team is still around and shocked at his departure, players said.
Junior tight end Lucas Reed said that the decision to fire Locksley wasn’t what he expected to happen after the loss to Sam Houston State last Saturday.
“It’s always a surprise when something like this happens,” Reed said. “You never see it coming and we never expected it to happen, but it is a business. It’s very tough on the team, but we are just going to try and stay focused and positive.”
Senior linebacker Carmen Messina said the firing came as a surprise to him as well, and that Locksley helped make him to become a better player and person.
“I was definitely shocked,” he said. “He was able to take me out of my shell and has pushed me to become more of a vocal leader on the field.”
Messina said that despite the team’s shock when they heard Locksley was fired, he understood why it had to happen.
“Business is business, and I understand why they made the decision, but we just have to focus on what we can control, and that’s coming out here and practicing and going out on that field Saturday,” he said.
Senior kicker James Aho, who scored the final points in both of Locksley’s wins, said the two victories Locksley had in his tenure were team triumphs. He said he was just doing his part to help the team.
“I wasn’t the guy that made those wins — it was the whole team that put in the effort to get me to that point,” Aho said. “It was just me who finished. I just did what I was coached to do and trained to do during my college career here.”
Through the adversity, the team is using the game against NMSU this Saturday as something to focus on during this week’s practice.
“We have New Mexico State, and that’s one thing we are focusing on and we need to stay focused,” Reed said.
Messina said he is confident that George Barlow, former defensive coordinator and current interim head coach, will do a good job preparing the team for the rest of the season.
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“He knows how to push everyone to get better than we think we can be. He is one of those guys who is going to help us excel,” Messina said.
Reed said that even though Monday was the first day of practice without Locksley, Barlow got everyone prepared and ready for the game on Saturday.
“Barlow brings a lot of intensity and he tries to keep us focused and he does a good job at that,” Reed said. “We made a lot of progress on the field today.”
