Oct. 19, 2005
Adam Garday
Senior Adadm Garday is a returning letterman at defensive end who has proven to be a key cog in the Lobo defense, displaying much improved energy and endurance in 4 starts this season…on the season, Garday has 13 tackles, 2 assisted tackles for loss, a half sack and forced fumble…also has 2 QB hurries…has been playing through a groin injury that he suffered in the Mizzou game…added 12 pounds in the offseason and has improved his strength without sacrificing any loss of speed…365 bench, 330 incline, 323 power clean, 500 squat…coaches say they are expecting a big year from him as both a run stopper and pass rusher…transferred from Scottsdale Community College in January of 2004…added 47 pounds to his frame since high school
Q: What is the toughest part of playing the defensive end position?
A: Nothing really just sometimes when you have to go down to a two technique and go in between the guard and the center. It is tough because you have two 300 plus pound guys double teaming you but that is the only hard part.
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Q: Do you feel speed or strength is more important at your position?
A: Speed definitely. This whole game has moved to speed.
Q: What was the biggest adjustment for you from junior college to division one football?
A: Going from a four down linemen to a three down linemen, because I was always playing outside in an eight or five technique and then when I got here I had to move down to the three technique and two technique.
Q: What do you enjoy about playing in coach Long and Lewis’s defensive system?
A: We’re blitzing and going different ways every time and you never know where the pressure is coming from anyone could get free at any time.
Q: What do you enjoy more hitting a running back in the backfield or getting a quarterback sack and why?
A: Probably a quarterback sack because they are a lot harder to come across. A tackle for loss is nice and all but everybody wants a sack.
Q: Do you have a big hit or play you remember?
A: Probably when I got a big sack last year against San Diego State (the sack came in the fourth quarter for a loss of 12 yards).
Q: What did you work on in the offseason?
A: Definitely my size. I needed to get bigger and stronger.
Q: What is something about you that very few of your teammates know?
A: I like to sing in the shower.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time other than sleeping and eating?
A: That is all we pretty much have time to do. No I like to play video games and play with my American Bulldog Thor.
Q: What are your goals after your football career?
A: I want to be a firefighter. When football is done I want to go home and be a firefighter.
Jerrell Malone
Senior Jerell Malone is a three-year letterman who is off to a good start this season, posting 14 tackles and a pass break-up in 4 starts…needs to continue to shore up his consistency in pass coverage, but has improved in each game…at Missouri he matched his career-high with 7 tackles, including a big hit across the middle, and was solid in coverage…started 8 games during his sophomore and junior seasons and coaches are confident in his ability to play at a high level right away in his new full-time role…coaches say he had perhaps the best offseason of any Lobo corner and entered the season with a higher level of confidence…knows the system and has the ability to be a much more aggressive playmaker in 2005…started the first four games of 2003 at right CB before giving way to Brandon Payne, who later went on to earn All-America honors after leading the nation in passes defended last year…possesses tremendous speed, athletic ability, has good size and can be a physical player…has clocked a 4.43 in the 40…has worked hard to improve his strength in the offseason…increased his max in all 4 core lifts this past spring…moved over from safety in the spring of ’03 and quickly made himself at home on the corner…first name is pronounced juh-RELL.
Q: What do you want to accomplish in your last year as a Lobo?
A: My main goal is to get to win the championship. We’ve got second place three years in a row now, so I want to win the Championship this year.
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Q: What are you looking forward to most this season?
A: Really, just playing. This is my last year, it could be my last year ever playing football so mainly just enjoying the last few games that I could have.
Q: The coaches said that you had the best spring of any corner this past spring. How do you feel about that?
A: I feel pretty good, but even though I did good in the spring I need to do even better during the season. The spring doesn’t matter too much to me.
Q: What piece of advice would you give to the younger players?
A: Be a coachable player. Try to give all the effort that you can because our team is based on that. That is one thing that will effect you playing on game day.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I don’t really go out much, I’m at home most the time. I just sit around the house a lot and watch TV most the time.
Q: What do you want to do after football?
A: I want to go into coaching if I don’t continue on with football.
Q: Is it hard to maintain a social life given the amount of time you spend with football?
A: No, not really. Our social life is the football team, everywhere you go you’re going to be with the football team.
Q: What have you learned in your time here as a Lobo?
A: I’ve matured a lot. I learned how to love the game more than what I did when I first got here.
Q: Anything you want the fans to know about you that they might not already know?
A: I’m a quiet person. Everybody knows that I don’t talk a lot. I don’t talk a lot and that’s about it.
Anthony Carter
Senior Anthony Carter is a returning starter at wide receiver who has played in four games this season…started nine games opposite Baskett last year and gained a tremendous amount of experience…coaches expect him to be much improved in 2005 and hope he can emerge as more of a factor in the passing game in his second Division I season…has shown good play-making potential, but needs to improve his execution and consistency…solid team player who has proven to be a willing and capable blocker…originally signed with the Lobos out of high school, but did not qualify academically…JC teammate Adam Garday also enrolled at UNM last year.
Q: What do you want to accomplish in your senior year as a Lobo?
A: Just win the Mountain West Conference Championship, a Bowl appearance and a Bowl game win. Personally; just get some catches, a couple touchdowns and just whatever we can do to win.
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Q: What are you looking forward to most in the last season here?
A: Hanging out with my friends. That’s not something that you’re going to be able to do after you’re done playing football. Just hanging out, kicking it with the fellas, that kind of stuff.
Q: What do you want to do after football?
A: Get my degree in criminology.
Q: What do you want to do with that?
A: I want to try to work with some kind of government agency as far as like the DEA, FBI, Secret Service, etc.
Q: What do you like to do your free time?
A: Play video games and hang out with the boys.
Q: Any advice for the younger players on the team?
A: Just always work hard, keep your head on straight. Just always bust your butt.
Q: What will you miss most about New Mexico?
A: The locker room probably. Just hanging out, it’s funny in there. Hanging out with everybody, all the jokes we tell and that kind of stuff.
Q: What have you learned here in your time as a Lobo?
A: I’ve grown as a player. I’ve learned stuff on the field that helps me on Saturdays. I learned how to be a hard worker, how to keep my head on straight, focus on the goal and be team member.
Evroy Thompson
Senior Evroy Thompson is a returning starter at defensive end who is coming off a break-out 2004 season…despite being one of the smallest defensive linemen in the MWC, few players work as hard in the trenches…he is a testament to the value of perseverance and determination…fought his way back onto the field after going nearly five years without game action…was a rookie linebacker during Brian Urlacher’s senior year at UNM in 1999, but tore his right ACL in his collegiate debut vs. New Mexico State and received a medical redshirt…rejoined the program in the spring of 2003 after a two-year Mormon mission in New York City, in the Spanish Harlem area…learned to speak fluent Spanish on the streets of New York…he appeared in nine games in 2003, recording 6 tackles…entered the 2004 season with limited experience at defensive end, but became a key member of the rotation in the second half of the season…two-time MWC Defensive Player of the Week…earned the team’s Beefmaster Award for players weighing between 251-275 pounds this past spring…boasts a 415-pound bench, 385 incline bench, 313 power clean and 500-pound squad…now 24, he has been one of the most explosive players on the Lobo defense and is making a strong push for all-conference honors…leads the team (T3rd MWC) with 2.5 sacks and is tied with LB Cody Kase with 3.5 tackles for loss (2 solo, 3 assisted)…at Missouri, Thompson recorded a career-high 8 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss in an incredible 91 plays at both end and nose tackle…scored his first career TD when he scooped up Tiger QB Brad Smith’s fumble and returned it 28 yards to give the Lobos a 28-21 lead…dropped Smith for a 10-yard sack on a 4th-and-10 play from the UNM 28 with less than a minute left in the game to secure the victory.
Q: What other schools offered you a scholarship coming out of Hockley, Texas?
A: UNM, BYU and Middle Tennessee State were the primary schools. I could have gone to BYU but I decided on UNM because – at the time – I liked the defense better here.
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Q: What do you remember about your first season in 1999?
A: We had a lot of good players on defense: Brian Urlacher, Casey Tisdale and Mike Barnett. I just remember being around a bunch of good guys and being a little homesick. I was doing really well during two-a-days and the coaches gave me an opportunity to get on the field. Unfortunately, I got hut in my first game (playing linebacker against New Mexico State) and missed the rest of the season.
Q: Being 24 and the oldest player on the team, do any of your teammates kid you about your age?
A: Some of the guys will say to me, ‘You’ve been here longer than coach Long haven’t you?’ and ‘You should know the defense better than anyone.’ I know all the guys I came in with in 1999 are already graduated and have lives and kids.
Q: When and why did your parents (Philbert and Moreen) come to the U.S. from Jamaica?
A: I was about 3 at the time, so around 1984. My mom wanted to attend college in the States. She ended up getting an academic scholarship from Prairie View A&M in Houston. She got her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. from there and is now a middle school principal. My dad runs his own business.
Q: What do you remember about Jamaica?
A: Not too much but I like the food. Jerk chicken, curry chicken, beans and rice. I love it. My grandmother still lives in Ocho Rios.
Q: What are your aspirations after college?
A: I’m majoring in Spanish with a minor in Chemistry, but I want to attend law school and eventually be a judge. I want to do things to help people. I’ll take the LSAT on Dec. 1.
Q: Describe your Mormon mission to Spanish Harlem in New York City?
A: Taking a mission is completely optional, but the church makes the choice of where you’ll go. I was there for two years. It was a lot of hard work, but I had a great time. I was a Spanish-speaking missionary, although I didn’t learn the language until I got there. There were four of us living in an apartment and we had two bunk beds in one bedroom. That was cheapest for us. My family was not born into the Mormon faith. It happened when I was about 10 when missionaries came to our house and spoke about the teachings.
Q: How did wrestling in high school help you as a football player?
A: It teaches you to stay low and get good leverage. You have to use your hands in wrestling and stay inside the opponent. It teaches you good hand placement and mental toughness because wrestling is so physical and tiring just like football. You just have to tell yourself that you’re not really tired even though you are.
Q: Have you had a favorite moment since coming to UNM?
A: Probably Texas Tech last year since we had not beaten them in so long. The feeling in the locker room after the game was so awesome.
Q: Was your family directly affected by Hurricane Rita?
A: We do live in a flood zone but it didn’t get to us so there was no damage. We were lucky. My family did evacuate to a church about 20 miles away. They stayed overnight and waited out the storm.
Logan Hall
Logan Hall was a late season starter at tight end last year and has started all five games in 2005, recording 22 knockdown blocks along with 4 catches for 39 yards. Unfortunately, Hall was hampered by injuries throughout his first year at UNM. He broke his right hand, near the pinky finger, late in 2004 spring practice and aggravated the injury during the first few days of preseason training camp. He was forced to play with a splint on his hand while the break healed, limiting his pass catching ability. A knee injury later kept him out of the Texas Tech game and he eventually had surgery on his hand after the Emerald Bowl. He transferred to UNM from Snow College (Ephraim, Utah), where he was a second team All-American on the field and first team All-America honoree in the classroom. After graduating from Hillcrest High School in Idaho Falls, he served his two-year Mormon mission in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from May of 2000 to June of 2002. An Academic All-MWC honoree last year, he posted a 3.51 GPA in Business Administration. He and his wife Cortney have a 7-month-old son Conner.
Q: After high school, you went on your church mission to Amsterdam – how was your experience and what did you learn from your time there?
A: I had the opportunity to work with a lot different people. It was just a lot of fun because it was so different from where I was from – a small town in Idaho. Amsterdam is very liberal. Certain drugs are legalized and some of the coffee shops serve more than coffee. It was a wake-up call for me, but it was great fun over there. The people are really friendly and they were good to us. I still have contact with some people there and I tell my wife every year that we should go visit, but we don’t have the funds yet.
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Q: How difficult was it to get back into the regular life of a student-athlete when you returned to the U.S. and started at Snow College?
A: It was difficult for a while. I felt like I wanted to go back (to Amsterdam) and felt like I was really out of place, but once I got back to playing football and got back around some of my friends again, it gradually returned to normal.
Q: What made you decide to come to UNM after Snow?
A: Well, it was a difficult decision for us because I was married and had to make a good decision for my family. We really liked (wide receivers and tight ends) coach (Jason) Strauss, liked the coaches here – felt that they were honest, good people – and liked the way the program was going. Obviously, it was and is really on the rise. We also wanted to be in the Mountain West Conference. It’s worked out great for us. We love it here.
Q: How frustrating was it to have to deal with the broken hand and other injuries last year?
A: It was really frustrating for me because I felt that I wasn’t able to do the things that I wanted to do and the things that I was best at. It’s frustrating because I know that more was expected of me that I wasn’t able to do because of some of the limitations with the two surgeries and so forth. That’s part of the game though, but I’m just glad I’m past it.
Q: You’ve been racking up the knockdowns this season – how much do you think you’ve improved as a blocker since coming to UNM?
A: I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I have improved a lot since I got here. It’s a lot different offense than the one I came from (at Snow College) and it took awhile to get used to it, but (Offensive Line) coach Bostad and coach Strauss do a really good job of teaching blocking schemes. I like the comradarie with the (offensive) linemen. It’s fun working with those guys because they’re so good. They’re really a good group. So it’s fun to be able to do swoop blocks with them and have their help.
Q: What specifically did you need to work on in order to become a better blocker and get the majority of the snaps in this offense?
A: Physically, I just needed to get stronger and I needed to learn how to keep my pads down. I also needed to understand what I was supposed to do and then be able to actually do it. A lot of times last year I was thinking about what I was supposed to do rather than just playing the game and being aggressive. Now that I know what I’m supposed to do and understand the office, I can just play football and that makes it a lot of fun.
Q: This year you and fellow tight end John Mulchrone have been a much bigger part of the passing game – how pleased are you with that development and what’s the key to keeping that role going the rest of the season?
A: I think we’re both really excited about being more involved in the offense, but we just want to win. Some defenses will give the tight ends more and other teams won’t. Of course everyone likes to contribute to the team, but some weeks it might be more receiving the ball and other weeks it might be more blocking. The goal is to win.
Q: How did you meet your wife?
A: My wife and I dated in high school. Our older sisters were good friends. When I got off my mission, we started dating again and got married about a year later. She makes my life a lot easier with football and school. She’s just great. It’s a great experience having the guys around because they’re so good to her and so good to my son. They treat us really well.
Q: How has fatherhood changed you?
A: I love being a dad, though sometimes I can’t believe that I’m a dad, but I love it. He’s great to come home to, just to be able to see his smile. As far as football goes, I think to myself that I better work hard everyday and I better do my best because how am I going to tell my son to do his best if I wasn’t doing it. Even though he’s little, he’s till got my number on his jersey and so I want to represent him well.
Q: What’s the secret to being able to balance your responsibilities to academics, athletics and family life?
A: A good wife. (laughs) My wife just makes things very easy for me as far as making time for me to study, but I definitely have to be conscious about spending time with my family. I think the trick is prioritizing your time and just doing what you’re supposed to do.
Q: What would like to do with your life and career once the football portion of it comes to an end?
A: I want to go into business and sales. I’m completing my MBA in marketing right now. So I want to do that and just be a dad.