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Chase Clayton is returning to his roots.
The junior made the switch from running back to wide receiver after talking to New Mexico football head coach Bob Davie before spring break. Clayton played wide-out as a senior at San Pedro High School in San Pedro, Calif., where he caught 21 balls for 363 yards and four touchdowns.
Clayton started his Lobo career as a defensive back, then switched to fullback, then to halfback and finally returned to wide receiver.
“I love it. I love it a lot. It’s a great feeling and I feel that receiver is my first love,” Clayton said after practice on Saturday. “I’m just trying to excel at it and help the team out as much as I can.”
The wide-receiver corps is one of the youngest groups on UNM with the loss of three lettermen in wide-outs: Ty Kirk, Quintell Solomon and Lamar Thomas. However, the Lobos bring back four lettermen in Marquis Bundy, Cameron DeBesse, Jeric Magnant and Carlos Wiggins.
Last year’s wide receivers combined for 49 receptions, 765 yards and three touchdowns. Clayton said he can add a much-needed spark to a passing game that ranked 119th out of 120 Division I football teams in the nation.
“I feel like I’m a deep threat and I have striders speed,” he said. “I feel like I can beat a lot of people deep … I feel like I can beat anybody deep.”
Kickoff return was where Clayton made his impact felt by returning 20 kickoffs last season for 608 yards, and his 30.4-yard average earned him All-Mountain West honorable-mention honors as the fifth best kickoff returner in the nation. Clayton scored twice: both were from 98 yards out once against Southern and Texas Tech.
“Kickoff return is my spot,” he said. “All of it is from the kickoff return team; those guys block their butts off. I see the holes and turn my speed on.”
Another reason Clayton moved from tailback to wide receiver is because of the depth the Lobos have at the position. UNM has senior running back Kasey Carrier returning to the fold along with sophomore Jhurell Pressley and junior Crusoe Gongbay. Carrier broke the school record for rushing yards in a season with 1,496 yards on 255 attempts.
As a tailback last season Clayton ran 33 times for 209 yards and a 6.5-yard average, and he said the transition from running back to wide receiver has been relatively smooth.
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“It hasn’t been really too tough, I just need to get back into it,” he said. “I need to back into the feel of the game and work towards it. There are a lot of things that you have to pay attention too.”
Wide-receivers coach Scott Baumgartner said the only difficulty Clayton is having is learning the offense from the wide-receiver position.
“There’s a lot to learn — he’s doing a good job, works hard and he’s learning the offense from the receiver position,” Baumgartner said. “Sometimes it’s not easy, but he’s getting there.
“He’s a good athlete and he has really good ball skills. Once he catches it he turns back into a running back, which is good for us and good for him.”
