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To say the New Mexico football team is antsy to play its first game of the season would be an understatement.
The Lobos officially open the season Saturday against the University of Texas-San Antonio at University Stadium. For senior center Dillon Farrell, however, this won’t be the first time facing the Roadrunners.
“I’ve been laughing with some of the guys because I’ve been having dreams about playing the first game,” Farrell said Friday after practice. “It’s been going on for a couple of weeks already. I’m just so excited to play and anxious to see what happens.”
The players are ready to get the season underway, but second-year head coach Bob Davie said the team still has kinks to work out before facing UTSA.
“I’m anxious to get us ready to play. I’m glad we don’t play tomorrow,” he said. “We’re going to get to the point where we need to play to find out what we have. We can’t keep practicing forever.”
UNM started practice for the upcoming season on Aug. 1 and left for Ruidoso for a 12-day camp on Aug. 5. Training for the last three weeks has been tough and the team is a little tired of hitting each other, according to senior defensive end Jacori Greer.
“We’ve progressed tremendously,” he said. “We’ve made some great strides learning the system, learning what exactly our coaches are looking for. We’ve really come together as a team over the years past.”
Still, the biggest question for the team is how the young players will react in the heat of battle, Davie said. About three quarters of UNM’s roster is made up of underclassmen.
“I just feel a tremendous responsibility to get these guys prepared,” Davie said. “We are a very young, immature football team. There’s a very fine line between who plays and who the next is in. It’s just an obligation to have them know what’s coming.”
Despite the youth movement, Greer said the underclassmen are more than ready to contribute to the team.
“Whenever you have so many young guys you’re going to have to adapt, but at the same time those guys are always energetic and ready to go,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword. All we can do is make sure they understand the times. When it’s time to focus and time to lock in.”
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Talking About practice
At Friday’s practice, the Lobos worked on situational drills for the upcoming game against UTSA. Davie said the team specifically worked on kickoffs, kickoff returns, punts and punt returns.
Coaches were also put in the coach’s box to simulate game-type conditions, Davie said.
Carrier named to another award list
Senior running back Kasey Carrier was named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List, according to an announcement by SPORTTyler, Inc. on Wednesday.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award is given to Texas-born players who graduated from a Texas high school or who played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year college.
Each week during the season, an Earl Campbell Tyler Rose National Player of the Week will be selected.
Voters for the selections include Texas-based journalists and college football dignitaries. The selection committee will narrow the field to 16 semifinalists on Nov. 16, and to the final four on Dec. 2. The winner will be announced in January 2014.
