COACH AND PROGRAM
Because New Mexico was picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West Conference last season, it didn’t surprise the prognosticators when the Lobos started 1-3.
The surprise came when New Mexico rebounded to win five of its last seven games to finish the season at 6-5, giving coach Ricky Long his first winning season and only the Lobos’ fifth since 1979. New Mexico finished 4-3 in the MWC, tying Utah for third.
Are the Lobos finally on a winning track?
"We’re going to be a pretty young football team this year," Long said. "The 2001 senior class did a good job of demanding that the other guys do what they’re supposed to do.
"It will be interesting to see how we do in the off-season and in the summer because it’s a whole new group of guys that have to demand that the other guys do what they’re supposed to do."
Not only did the Lobos finish with a winning record, other positives were aplenty, including:
-- New Mexico again increased its win total. Since Long took over the program, the Lobos have gone from one win in 1998 to six wins in 2002.
-- Scoring and yardage increased by more than eight points and 110 yards a game from the previous season.
-- The defense finished in the top 20 nationally, allowing only 310.8 yards a game -- 10th nationally -- including a school-low 87.4 rushing yards per game. UNM held its last five opponents to less than 300 yards of offense.
-- The Lobos won at Wyoming for the first time in 20 years, beat Air Force for the third straight year, won at San Diego State for an unprecedented third straight time and held Brigham Young to its fewest points of the season.
-- Thanks to an expansion in the north end of the stadium, to go along with a competitive football team, attendance at home games grew by 32 percent. UNM set school records for total attendance (187,608) and average attendance (31,268).
-- The Lobos fell just short of earning a berth in the New Orleans Bowl, losing to Colorado State, 24-17, at University Stadium.
New Mexico will have a chance for some early success in 2002 by visiting North Carolina State in the Black Coaches Association Bowl on Aug. 24 in Raleigh, N.C.
"This is a great opportunity for us to play a solid team from a major conference," Long said. "This will make for a long football season, but I think the players are excited about the opportunity."
Long also added Curtis Luper to his staff when Ned James took a spot with the Tennessee Titans. Luper, 36, will coach the running backs, while Jeff Conway will coach the wide receivers and continue his role as special teams coordinator.
Luper comes to UNM from Texas A&M Commerce, where he spent three years as the secondary coach for the Division II Lions.
QUARTERBACKS
Junior quarterback Casey Kelly (6-3, 190) entered last season as a backup to Rudy Caamano. He got his opportunity to play in the second quarter against Utah and never came out, starting the final seven games of the year and leading the Lobos to a 5-2 record in those starts.
Offensive coordinator Dan Dodd said the offense started to find its rhythm after Kelly moved into the starting lineup. The offense averaged 27.6 points per game, up nearly nine points from the 2000 season. The Lobos’ total offense also jumped from 266.6 yards per game in 2000 to 376.8 in 2001. With Kelly as the starter, the Lobos averaged more than 400 yards of total offense and 31.3 points.
Kelly threw for more than 1,500 yards last season and eight touchdowns, and five of the touchdown passes were for more than 35 yards.
Kelly played just two offensive sets during the spring game, won by the Cherry squad over the Silver team, 13-10.
With Kelly set as the starter, the key battle is for the backup spot between sophomore Jeff Grady (6-2, 205) and red-shirt freshman Kyle Kristick (6-3, 220). Grady also plays for the New Mexico baseball team and Kristick was impressive last year on the scout team.
"We must find a backup quarterback that we have faith in," Long said. "I think Kyle and Jeff competing against each other can only make them better. But, both of them need to show improvement to the point where we feel confident we have a backup."
RUNNING BACKS
UNM lost three key running backs in Jarrod Baxter, Javier Hanson and Holmon Wiggins, so the competition here will be fierce.
"We have really good athletes at running back, but it is a very inexperienced group," Long said. "They are going to need to develop in the spring and mature quickly in the fall."
The key returnee is senior Quincy Wright (5-10, 185), who ran for 167 yards on 14 carries last season. Also in the picture are red-shirt freshmen Dontrell Moore (5-11, 203) and Tony Frazier (5-6, 180). Moore was outstanding last year on the scout team and Frazier is a Barry Sanders type who is hard to tackle. Frazier carried 10 times for 31 yards in the spring game.
The competition for the starting nod will also be good at fullback between sophomore Landrick Brody (5-11, 240) and red-shirt freshman Adrian Byrd (6-1, 221). Brody played on special teams last year and Byrd was chosen UNM’s top offensive scout. They will be trying to replace Baxter, who left UNM as its seventh all-time leading rusher.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Wide receiver should be a strong point for the Lobos, as junior Dwight Counter (6-2, 190), senior Joe Manning (6-0, 180), junior Terrence Thomas (6-2, 187), junior Rashaun Sanders (6-2, 200) and senior Derrick Shepherd (6-1, 181) all return.
"We are much better at receiver than we were last year," Long said. "We lost some good players, but we have got a lot of quality and experience coming back."
Counter led the Lobos with 43 catches for 774 yards and four touchdowns last year. He was a second-team all-conference selection. Manning caught 26 passes for 482 yards and a team-leading 18.5 yards per catch. Counter and Manning were Kelly’s go-to guys.
Manning led all receivers in the spring game with five catches for 76 yards.
Thomas missed five games with a broken leg last year, but had successful surgery and should be 100 percent this fall.
Also in the mix at receiver will be senior Jake Farrel (6-4, 213), junior Michael Brunker (6-2, 171) and red-shirt freshman Hank Baskett (6-4, 205). Farrel and Brunker each had three catches in the spring game.
The Lobos lost tight end Joe Fiola, who would have been a senior, who left the team for personal reasons. Still, there are several players who could make an impact.
"We do have some experience there and have a few really good blockers," Long said. "But we need to develop a tight end that can be a receiver as well as a solid blocker."
Junior Brian Penley (6-2, 241) split time with Fiola last year, starting five games. He will battle for playing time with red-shirt freshman Brian Beaty (6-4, 246), sophomores Mike Augustyniak (6-5, 253) and Zach Williams (6-2, 238) and junior college transfer Zach Cresap (6-4, 228).
OFFENSIVE LINE
New Mexico returns three starters in junior right tackle Jason Lenzmeier (6-5, 305), senior center Rashad McClure (6-3, 300) and sophomore right guard Claude Terrell (6-3, 320).
"We have some quality players on the offensive line who have a lot of experience," Long said. "There are a couple of slots open, but I think we have some players who played some last year who can step in. We need to develop some backups at those spots for the future."
McClure has started 31-of-34 games at center and has played 25 complete games. Lenzmeier was honorable mention all-conference has year and Terrell was a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American.
Junior Justin Colburn (6-4, 286) will probably start at left tackle next to guard Calvin McDonald (6-4, 340), a junior. Sophomore Nate Hembree (6-5, 285) and junior Derek Watson (6-3, 283) will also see playing time on the line.
KICKERS
Gone is first-team all-conference kicker Vladimir Borombozin. Sophomore Wes Zunker (5-8, 160) kicked field goals from 42 yards out last year, making 2-of-4, including a 51-yarder in his first career attempt against UTEP.
"We don’t have anyone locked in at kicker right now," Long said. "Obviously, Wes Zunker has proven he can be a kicker and he has the advantage because he got the opportunity to kick in game situations, but we will let some other players compete for the job."
Walk-on Matt Goldstein (5-9, 178), a sophomore, will compete with Zunker.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Lobos will miss two-time first team all-conference selection Brian Johnson at defensive end. Three players return who saw significant playing time last year, including nose tackle Hebrews Josue (5-11, 280). Josue, a senior, transferred in last year and started 11 games. He made 24 tackles.
Also returning are juniors Daniel Kegler (6-3, 260) at left end and D.J. Renteria (6-3, 274) at right end. They both started four games last year. Junior Guillermo Morrison (6-4, 272) and sophomore Kyle Coulter (6-1, 260) will also contribute.
Two players from junior colleges should push for playing time -- Casey Hamilton (5-11, 261) from Kilgore College and Zach Rupp (6-5, 234) from Dixie College.
LINEBACKERS
Gary Davis was a first-team all-conference linebacker last year and Mohammed Konte was also a key contributor at linebacker. They are gone, but there is still plenty of talent here.
Back is senior Charles Moss (6-0, 225), who started 11 games last year and made 71 tackles. He was chosen second-team all-conference. Sophomore Nick Speegle (6-5, 235) started four games last year and was voted Freshman All-America by The Sporting News.
Junior Shannon Kincaid (6-2, 225) should start at left linebacker, but will be pushed by sophomores Chrishone Harris (6-2, 225) and Domingo Villarruel (6-3, 220).
Help will come from the junior college ranks in Fola Fashola (5-11, 209) from Kilgore Junior College, and Daniel Gawronski (6-0, 247) from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. A year ago, Fashola was a first-team all-conference player and had a high game of 10 tackles. Gawronski was chosen all state in the tough Mississippi junior college ranks and piled up 106 tackles.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Lobo safety Scott Gerhardt was very productive during his senior season last year. His replacement will be sophomore Kevin Walton (6-0, 203), who started one game at safety a year ago. He had 16 tackles, mostly on special teams. He will be pushed by Sidney Wiley (5-11, 185) from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Like former junior college teammate Gawronksi, Wiley transferred to New Mexico in January. He played cornerback as a freshman and free safety as a sophomore, making second-team all state in 2001.
Back at the safeties are junior Terrell Golden (5-10, 200) and senior David Hall (5-10, 185). Golden is a two-year starter who was voted honorable mention all-conference last year. He had 10 tackles for loss and was fifth on the team with 55 tackles. Golden had shoulder surgery and missed spring practice, but he should be fully recovered in the fall. Hall, who transferred in last year, started six games and ranked eighth on the team with 34 tackles.
Sophomore Josh Bazinet (5-11, 195) and juniors Justin Millea (6-1, 200) and Manny Smith (5-10, 165) will see quality minutes.
Four-year corner standout Stephen Persley graduated, but senior David Crockett (5-10, 175) is back at the other sport. Crockett transferred in last year and intercepted three passes, one for a touchdown, while breaking up 14 passes.
As many as five or six players will be in the hunt for Persley’s spot, including seniors Desmar Black (5-9, 185) and Brandon Gregory (5-9, 172). Black started 11 games at safety as a red-shirt freshman in 1999. He had shoulder surgery and has not played much the last two years. Gregory, who transferred in last year, played mostly on special teams. Junior college recruit Joel Paoli (5-9, 160) will also be in the mix. He played a year ago for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
RECRUITING CLASS
Long and his staff signed nine transfers and eight high school players to scholarships. Lineman Cook and kicker Zunker were placed on scholarship for the fall semester.
The high school class features one quarterback, four offensive linemen and three safeties. The quarterback is Kole McKamey (6-2, 185) from Artesia (N.M.) High School. The all-state quarterback from the New Mexico Class AAAA champions threw for 1,963 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior. He also rushed for 859 yards and 16 touchdowns last year and has been timed at 4.45 in the 40. A good athlete, McKamey played on the Artesia basketball team and was a member of the school’s state champion 4x100-meter relay team.
The defensive backs are Justin Clayton (5-10, 190) from Venice High School in Los Angeles; Blaine Harrell (6-1, 190) from Everman High School in Fort Worth, Texas; and Dedrick Simien (6-1, 190) from Taylor (Texas) High School.
Clayton was a two-time first-team all-conference defensive back who led his team in tackles as a junior and senior. Harrell was a three-year starter at safety who made 75 tackles and intercepted eight passing last year in leading his team to the Class AAA state title with a 15-0 record. Simien was a also a three-year starter in high school. He played cornerback his sophomore season, then moved over to safety his final two years. He made 77 tackles and intercepted three passes last year, one for a touchdown.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
The Lobos must have someone come through at tailback and fullback on offense, find a backup for Kelly at quarterback and some depth in the offensive line, wide receiver and tight end.
The strength for New Mexico will once again come on defense, where Long gets credit for his unorthodox and unpredictable alignments. The Lobos were ranked 18th nationally in total defense, allowing only 310.8 yards per game.
New Mexico has been in the top 20 in total defense the last two seasons. The rush defense was tops in the conference and fifth best nationally with an average allowed of 87.4 yards per game.
"We had some outstanding seniors on defense that we must replace, so we need some guys to step up big time," Long said. "We need some of these kids to step up and play like some of the seniors did last year.
"I think we have those types of kids, but don’t know how long that will take. That’s why we recruited some junior college kids. Hopefully, they can compete for some starting spots, but it’s no given due to the quality we already have there."
Long is confident the Lobos will be strong again, but has one area of concern.
"I am confident we could put a quality starting 11 out there right now," he said, "But, there are still a few question marks, especially at one of the cornerback positions."
Long would like nothing better than to get off to a fast start, unlike the last three years when the Lobos have struggled out of the gate at 1-3, 0-3 and 1-3. The first five games this season are at North Carolina State in the Black Coaches Association Bowl, Weber State at home, at Air Force, Baylor at home and at New Mexico State.
"We are striving to create a consistent winner here," Long said. "Our younger guys have matured and we have been extremely competitive. Things could have been better if we would have gotten off to better starts the past few years."
"The past three years we have shown that we can compete with not only everybody in our league, but with everyone on our schedule. I know our confidence is very high right now."
