July 29, 2004
Offensive Outlook
The Lobo offense enjoyed a resurgent 2003 season under coordinator Dan Dodd, putting up numbers not seen in a while around Albuquerque. UNM averaged an MWC best 30.1 points a game, the most since 1997, and its total offense average of 400.5 yards was the most productive by a Rocky Long team. Powered by perhaps the most dominant offensive line unit in school history, New Mexico’s running game finished the year ranked second in the Mountain West and 16th in the nation. Six members of the offense earned all-conference honors, including four first team selections, while three garnered All-America laurels.
The offensive unit will have a bit of a different look in 2004. Gone are standout tackles Jason Lenzmeier and Justin Colburn, explosive wide receiver Dwight Counter, and the savvy Casey Kelly, who led the Lobos to 19 victories over his career, the most of any starting quarterback in UNM history. However, New Mexico returns a stellar foundation of talent this year, including a trio of All-Americans in junior tailback DonTrell Moore (Honorable Mention – SportsIllustrated.com), senior offensive tackle Claude Terrell (Third team – Associated Press) and sophomore offensive guard Robert Turner (Freshman team – Football Writers Association). Another first team all-MWC honoree in junior center Ryan Cook also returns, to help give the UNM coaching staff an excellent environment in which to groom a new starting quarterback, as well as a fresh group of wide receivers and tight ends.
“Obviously we graduated some quality players, but we do feel like we have a good core of guys coming back,” said offensive coordinator Dan Dodd. “We’ve displayed a good work ethic going into the offseason and we certainly feel that we have enough talent here to win with. We will have a new starting quarterback this year and that’s definitely going to be a `learn while you earn’ position. The only way you get good at it is to do it. I think we have some talented players who will compete for that top spot and whoever wins it will have some outstanding weapons around them in the backfield and on the offensive line. We’re a little inexperienced at wide receiver and tight end, but there’s some real playmakers in that group.”
Quarterbacks
For the first time in nearly three years a new quarterback will lead the New Mexico offense. Fortunately, the coaching staff has the luxury of picking between two tremendously talented players in senior Tali Ena and sophomore Kole McKamey.
McKamey spent the 2003 season as Casey Kelly’s back-up and saw action in six games under center. The 6-2, 208-pound McKamey also lined up several times at wide receiver, where he excelled as a junior at Artesia (N.M.) High School. Combining outstanding speed and agility with a deceptively strong arm, McKamey possesses a rare level of athleticism that could cause fits for opposing defenses as he develops his understanding of the offense.
At 6-5, 253 pounds, Ena brings a classic, NFL-style physique to the quarterback mix. Though he only attempted two passes last fall in his debut season at UNM, Ena has shown, in two seasons on the Lobo practice field, the incredible arm strength and poise in the pocket that made him a top recruit for Washington State University in 2000. A confident and mature leader, Ena needs only to gain more consistency and greater familiarity with Dan Dodd’s offensive system to become an impact player for New Mexico.
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“Obviously we graduated some quality players, but we do feel like we have a good core of guys coming back. We’ve displayed a good work ethic going into the offseason and we certainly feel that we have enough talent here to win with.” – Offensive Coordinator Dan Dodd |
The two players battled back-and-forth throughout the spring in a spirited competition for the starting position with each splitting time with the first team offense. Both signal callers were “live” in most of the spring scrimmages, allowing the defense to hit and tackle the quarterbacks as they would in a regular game. According to the coaches, the neck-and-neck race for the No. 1 position will pick up where it left off when the players report for preseason practice in August.
“I think they both need to have a better understanding of our entire offense,” said Long. “We got used to Casey Kelly changing plays for us and reading defenses. Both of them are inexperienced, so they’ll have to improve on that, but they both have valuable assets. The person who wins the starting job is simply whoever is going to be able to move the ball the best and helps us score the most points.”
Running Backs
New Mexico returns one of the top running back tandems in the nation in junior Doak Walker Award candidate DonTrell Moore and senior D.D. Cox. The duo combined for 2,092 yards, 12 100-yard games and rushed for 26 touchdowns in 2003 to lead the nation’s 16th-ranked rushing offense.
After winning MWC Freshman of the Year honors in 2002, Moore continued his assault on the UNM record book with a stunning sophomore season. The electric 5-10, 208-pounder shattered single season records with 1,450 rushing yards (111.5 average) and 21 total touchdowns. While still laboring in relative obscurity, Moore opened some eyes around the nation in 2003, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors from SportsIllustrated.com and second team honors by CollegeFootballNews.com. CFN also named Moore the conference player of the year and ranked him the 17th-best player in the country.
A unanimous first team all-MWC selection the past two years, Moore enters 2004 just 1,278 yards shy of Mike Williams’ UNM career rushing record. Despite his accomplishments though, Moore remains committed to becoming a complete back. Improving each year as a runner, he made great strides to improve his ball control during the spring of 2003 and this offseason, the coaching staff believes he took another step in his development as a pass blocker.
Cox, meanwhile, quietly enjoyed a fine season at New Mexico after transferring from Oklahoma State in 2002. A bit more of a straight-ahead, downhill runner, Cox and the shifty Moore kept opposing defenses on their heels throughout the season. The 6-0, 213-pound Cox finished ninth in the Mountain West with 642 yards rushing (53.5 average) and was tied for sixth with seven rushing touchdowns. He surpassed the 100-yard mark three times on the year, including twice in the final month of the regular season, and proved to be one of the league’s premier backs when given the opportunity. Though he notched double-digit rushing attempts in just five games last fall, Cox averaged 113 yards and 5.9 yards per attempt in games where he carried the ball at least 10 times.
According to head coach Rocky Long, the UNM coaching staff has equal confidence in both running backs’ ability to carry the ground game and plans to continue their rotation. Like 2003, Long said playing time will be determined by whoever performs the best in practice.
“It’s a security blanket for us as coaches to have two quality guys because running back is a very dangerous position that has more risk of injury,” said Long. “I think it’s a healthy competition and having both of them there adds to the excitement. Neither one can take a day off and neither one of them can take a break. There’s always someone there nipping at the other one’s heels and they’ll both be better because of the competition.”
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Junior Adrian Byrd leads a strong, deep group of fullbacks. |
Though they may not receive the same attention as the tailbacks, New Mexico also features a pair of bruising and skilled fullbacks in junior Adrian Byrd (6-1, 233) and senior Landrick Brody (5-11, 246). The incumbent starter, Byrd enjoyed a solid 2003 campaign, rushing for 202 yards (5.9 average) and improving each week as a lead and pass blocker. After a strong offseason on the field and in the weight room, Byrd appears primed to be an even greater force in the running game in 2004. Brody, meanwhile, is an experienced blocker and has also displayed impressive power running ability in practice. Both players have earned the confidence of the coaching staff and might even be used in tandem to give UNM an added physical presence on the ground.
“Both of them played quite a bit last year and both are quality fullbacks,” said Long. “They did a lot of good things for us, even carrying the ball at times and doing a good job of playing smashmouth football, but they’re in there to block most of the time. I think we really have four very good running backs returning this year.”