The New Mexico football team will rely on one of its new coaches to get the offensive line prepped for the season. The Lobos look like they may add some new wrinkles to the offensive game, but will still rely heavily on the option as its bread and butter.
By Robert Maler Seeing a favorite team or alma mater take the field is all the incentive most college football fans need to go out to a game, but New Mexico's faithful fans can start looking forward to some additional benefits that aim to enhance the game day experience in 2016. The New Mexico football season kicks off in less than three weeks, with its home opener against South Dakota on Thursday, Sept. 1.
New Mexico football has named its four team captains for the upcoming season, and the selections are unprecedented in more ways than one. The team elected senior linebacker Dakota Cox, safety Daniel Henry and the two starting quarterbacks from last season, Austin Apodaca and Lamar Jordan.
The preseason polls are in and New Mexico has been selected to finish fifth in the Mountain West and two defenders have made the cut for preseason All-Mountain West.
For the first time in two decades, the Lobos will open up the season on a Thursday night. Originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3, UNM will now kick off its season against South Dakota on Sept. 1.
The University of New Mexico announced on Wednesday morning the signing of its newest tailback. Kentrail Moran was listed as the number one running back in the state of Illinois has signed to join UNM’s well-established running attack for the 2016 season.
New Mexico’s phone didn’t ring once in the 2016 NFL Draft this past weekend. However, for senior running back Jhurrell Pressley, the dream of joining the National Football League has not yet come to a close.
New Mexico football wrapped up its final spring practice as players and coaches took time to reflect and fantasize about a bright future. Davie said he remembers every player’s situation, specifically.
“Physically, you look at him and he’s not the most imposing figure. But he’s a self-made guy, academically and athletically; he just works his tail off.” Offensive line coach Jason Lenzmeier had that to say about his 6-foot-2-inch 290 pound senior tackle, Garrett Adcock. Football players have to give a lot on the field both mentally and physically, but there is much more than meets the eye with this student athlete.
The New Mexico football team got its first taste of organized play with a scrimmage last Friday, along with a touch of light rain. Head coach Bob Davie said he was pleased with the turnout, which also marked the fifth annual Spring Coaches Clinic. Davie said the year prior to him taking the position there were about 10 coaches that showed up, but the numbers have grown each year. There were 75 coaches that attended Friday.
“I think he’s the first guy that I’ve ever coached that has a tongue ring ... he’s a unique guy,” said dead coach Bob Davie of defensive lineman Johnny Williams. He said it is just one of many interesting things that make Williams a renaissance man and “a real dude”. The defensive lineman plays with a high motor all the time. Davie said he had to tell him three times during practice not to tackle guys in the no-contact drills. His personality appears to be just as intense as his play, perhaps even more. Williams, 24, took a unique path on his way back to the football field and the classroom. He said he competed in MMA for three years at his hometown of Hemet, California.
The defense appears to be well ahead of the offense in the early stages of spring as players put on their pads for the first time. Head coach Bob Davie said that’s to be expected, and several of the players are being asked to do different things. He said everyone is out of their comfort zone right now, but the challenging situation is a good thing.
The New Mexico football team may have some new faces and experience some change and adversity, but as the team gets ready for spring practice, the head coach said there will be one clear focus — consistency. In Monday’s press conference, head coach Bob Davie discussed the state of the football program. He said the team continued to show growth and improvement last season and is moving in a positive direction, but one of the biggest obstacles it faced was inconsistency.
The UNM Police Department exercised a warrant to search the Lobo Village apartment of Nias Martin, a junior cornerback for the UNM football team, on February 21. While no charges have yet been filed, an alleged sexual assault and kidnapping incident occurred between Martin and a 19-year-old female student who also attends UNM. The 19-year-old reported the incident on Feb. 20, with her father and sister.
Bob Davie needs a break from talking to the 2016 recruiting class. The New Mexico head coach joked that he has heard enough from the players and needs a couple of days of silence after receiving his final list of players who signed their national letters of intent on Wednesday.
It took Bob Davie four long years to turn the New Mexico football program into a winning one. And less than a month after leading the Lobos to their first bowl appearance in almost a decade, Davie was rewarded with a well-deserved two-year contract extension last week. Davie is now signed up to be the head coach for the Lobos until 2021 and will receive a $50,000 raise. The move is a smart one for New Mexico Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. Since his hire Davie has managed to pull UNM out of the doldrums of college football, reviving a program that many thought couldn’t be saved.
New Mexico has announced the signing of Stan Eggen as the newest member of Bob Davie’s football coaching staff. The day after Davie received a contract extension through the 2021 season, the head coach appointed Eggen as the defensive line coach.
New Mexico safety Markel Byrd’s talents will be missed on the football field, but his memory remains a prominent force in the college football community. After redshirting during the 2013 season out of high school, Byrd quickly became an integral part of the New Mexico secondary early in the 2014-2015 campaign. It wasn’t until this past season, Byrd’s redshirt sophomore year where he became a playmaker for the squad, and a major reason New Mexico garnered a bowl appearance.
New Mexico has taken notice of Bob Davie’s winning football season and bowl appearance, the first since 2007, and has locked up the head coach through 2021. Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs announced on Monday morning that Davie signed a two-year extension with UNM, the second extension during his tenure as a Lobo.
Trickery, fourth down conversions, and big-time plays fueled Arizona in a highly emotional 45-37 win over UNM in the 10th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday night. Having appeared in four straight bowl games at the helm of the Arizona football program, Rich Wright is no stranger to what it takes to win a bowl game. The head coach said he knew New Mexico was going to try to throw some new looks and some trick plays at his squad before the opening whistle sounded.
Solutions by The State News
