Whether it was coaching Brandon Marshall in Chicago, Alshon Jeffery in Philadelphia or working alongside some of the NFL’s best offensive minds, New Mexico’s new wide receivers coach Carson Walch has spent more than two decades learning what it takes to play the position.
“It was an invaluable experience in the Bears, Browns and Eagles organizations,” Walch said.
Walch arrived as the University of New Mexico’s wide receivers coach in February, after spending five seasons with the Cleveland Browns as the player development coordinator from 2021-2022, before being promoted in 2023 to director of offensive skill development.
Before landing in Albuquerque, Walch spent more than two decades coaching at nearly every level of football. His career included stops at Dakota State (NAIA), Division II at Winona State, Canadian Football League teams Montreal and Edmonton, Minnesota (FBS) and in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’ve learned from a lot of good wide receiver coaches over the last twenty-plus years,” Walch said. “I do have a philosophy on how we play the position and that is the stuff I brought here.”
How does Walch describe that philosophy?
“Very demanding, but not demeaning,” Walch said. “I’m a believer in techniques. Speed is great, but being a technician…that outlives speed.”
“I think being a truth teller is very important,” Walch emphasized. “My job is not to be their friend…I believe you’ll get way more gains with young men, or even men in the NFL, if you give them the truth on where they need to develop.”
Fifth-year wideout Shawn Miller has displayed Walch’s philosophy throughout fall camp. He’s separated himself as a reliable option in the offense after stringing together a handful of encouraging practices, including last week’s scrimmage.
Miller underwent a procedure on his left hand in the offseason that he says forced him to overcome some obstacles mentally and physically.
“I think anyone that’s had a pin in their finger…that’s a very hard transition to come back from and catch footballs from a college quarterback,” Walch said of Miller. “He battled through it, he stayed positive…he got on the jugs, he found a different way to tape his finger and he’s balled out the last 10 days.”
“I’m coming back from that well,” Miller said regarding the procedure on his hand. “I’m playing back to my normal self. My goal is just making sure I’m capitalizing on my opportunities and doing my job the best way I can.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM’s receiving corps runs much deeper than one, with sophomore Zhaiel Smith, redshirt junior Evan Wysong, fifth-year senior Miles Williams and sixth-year senior Kader Diop all looking to carve out roles on offense by building something important.
“They all need to build value,” Walch said. “You can build value by being a great blocker…by being a trusted member to play all three positions…by being the guy that gets open the most — you can build value by being the best contested-catch guy.”
“We want to be able to call on you in a moment's notice and know you can run on the field and do the job at a high level,” Walch emphasized.
For Smith, Wysong, Williams and Diop, providing versatility could be what separates them in a crowded room. With Miller emerging as a top target and four freshmen making strong cases to stay on the field, Walch is presented with a good problem to have: finding the best combination — or combinations — of receivers to deploy on gamedays.
UNM’s flavorful freshman class has left a strong impression on Walch, who had an interesting comparison of the four.
“I think when you put together a group, and you bring a room together…it’s almost like putting a basketball team together,” Walch said of the freshmen. “We have Dorian (Patterson) who’s like a power forward, you have DJ (Darling) who’s more of like a small forward — can do a little bit of everything — and then you have your shooting guard and point guard with Massiah (Mingo) and Bailen (George)... I think they complement each other very well.”
“Those are my brothers from another mother,” Patterson said. “We are very close…(we’re) a special group.”
Colin Lockett, New Mexico’s wide receivers coach last season, joined UCLA for the same role in December. Lockett recruited all four freshmen before his departure. Despite Lockett’s move to Los Angeles, Mingo said there was never any hesitation to leave.
“We were gonna stick together,” Mingo said. “Coach Eck is a really great coach and the way he’s trying to change things around…I think it worked well.”
It’s unclear which of the four will see the field — or when, for that matter, though all have seen reps with the first-team offense throughout fall camp.
For all the pieces Walch has been able to evaluate this fall, one has remained a wild card; Troy Omeire, the UNLV transfer, is expected to be a significant contributor, but wasn’t a full participant in fall camp.
Omeire has made significant progress in his rehab from a hamstring injury he suffered at the end of the spring. Both Walch and Omeire have made it clear that the goal is to play in the opener against Central Michigan.
“The (staff has) been by my side, they’re taking good care of me,” Omeire said of his rehab. “They know what I can do on the field, and it’s all about getting me to the game.”
“Everyone that I’ve talked to in the building…(say) he’s been positive,” Walch said. “He works hard — he answers all of the questions in the meeting room with me…he’ll be ready to go.”
In conjunction with all the competition within the receiver room, there’s plenty of camaraderie amongst them as well.
“We had a position group dinner (at Sadie’s) and played a playful joke on coach,” Miller laughed. “The whole restaurant sang him happy birthday…they tried to put the sombrero (hat) on his head.”
“This was Evan Wysong’s (doing),” Walch said. “I’m guessing Wysong (has) been to Sadie’s plenty of times as an Albuquerque native…it wasn’t my birthday; they got a big kick out of it. It was good times and good team bonding.”
Walch didn’t seem fond of the prank, but it offered a glimpse into the relationship he’s helped establish in the room since his arrival. Now, as Walch mentioned, he will look to “hold them to the highest possible standard.”
Edge Garcia is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @ByEdgeGarcia
