April 20, 2006
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Two of the biggest storylines coming of New Mexico football practice this spring have been first-year coordinator Bob Toledo’s pro-style offense and the return of the safety/linebacker hybrid Lobo position made famous at UNM by Brian Urlacher. This Saturday at University Stadium, future and past will clash as the revamped New Mexico offense faces the traditional organized chaos of the Lobo defense in the 2006 Cherry-Silver Game.
With just three practices left next week, players know that the Cherry-Silver Game will be one of the final chances to show head coach Rocky Long and his staff what they can do on the field before the summer. Several key positions are still up for grabs which should make for an intense competition on Saturday.
The 100-play scrimmage begins at 12:30 p.m. at University Stadium. Tickets are just $2 per person and include free admission to the Lobo baseball game against Utah at Isotopes Park beginning at 2:30.
The following are some players and positions to watch during Saturday’s game:
Three-Headed Monster
It’s been five years since somebody other than DonTrell Moore led the Lobos in rushing, but one of the three backs battling for Moore’s vacant starting job will likely have the honor in 2006. Junior Martelius Epps (5-10, 182), and sophomores Rodney Ferguson (6-0, 210) and Paul Baker (5-8, 187) have worked throughout the spring to prove themselves as the No. 1 back at New Mexico. Epps is the lightning quick back with underrated power, Ferguson a powerful, punishing interior runner with solid quickness in the open field, while Baker has the nimble feet, quick burst and churning legs that made Moore so effective.
While Moore’s presence gave the team a sense of security and confidence in the rushing game over the past few seasons, the Lobo coaching staff is not in uncharted waters this spring. New Mexico finished the spring of 2002 in a similar situation with a trio of unproven players in Quincy Wright, Tony Frazier and a young Moore left with the task of replacing the standout rushing combination of Jarrod Baxter and Holmon Wiggins.
The result? Wright burst onto the scene by running for 475 yards in the first three games, including a school record 265 yards against Weber State, before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Moore then jumped in after being slowed early by a knee injury of his own and over the last 11 games established himself as the greatest rookie runner in UNM history with 1,134 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Return of the Lobo
During the 1998 and ’99 seasons, Brian Urlacher and the Lobo safety position personified the aggressive, unpredictable defense head coach Rocky Long brought with him to New Mexico. From his unique position roaming the middle of the field as a deep linebacker or shallow free safety, Urlacher led the nation in tackles in 1998 and was a consensus All-American in ’99 before going on to his All-Pro career as the middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Since Urlacher’s time, however, the UNM defense has changed its look slightly from year to year, adjusting formation and alignment to best suit its personnel. While it often remained as an official position on the depth chart, the Lobo position was effectively on hiatus.
This spring, it’s back in the forms of 6-3, 232-pound senior Quincy Black, 6-3, 220-pound junior Major Mosley and 6-1, 200-pound sophomore Jake Bowe. Black started virtually every game last year at outside linebacker, recording 63 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, and 19 quarterback hurries. He also led the team with five pass break-ups and returned his lone interception 31 yards for a touchdown. Mosley is the enigma of the group, having begun his college career as a wide receiver, before moving to tight end and then over to defense last year. While injuries have kept him from being more of a factor on gameday, Mosley has set the power clean weightlifting record at every position he’s played and appears to be growing more confident with each day of practice. Bowe, meanwhile, was a solid special teams performer in his first season, has played both linebacker and safety at UNM, and has a bright future ahead of him.
While the responsibilities Lobo position have been modified slightly since Urlacher’s days, Long and defensive coordinator Osia Lewis have the flexibility to show any kind of alignment using the same personnel. Sometimes six players appear in the secondary, other times there will be eight men stacked in the box. The Lobo may blitz or drop back in coverage, sometimes there are two Lobo safeties on the field, but the goal remains to be aggressive, deceptive and force the offense to adjust to the defense.
Catching On
While Hank Baskett III established himself as one of the premier wide receivers in the Mountain West Conference over the past two years, the rest of the Lobo pass catchers labored in relative anonymity waiting for their chance to shine. Now their time has come and the early results this spring have been outstanding.
Operating in offensive coordinator Bob Toledo’s pro-style two-wide receivers set, juniors Travis Brown and Marcus Smith have established themselves as the early favorites for the starting jobs. The 6-3, 180-pound Brown was second on the team in receptions last year and has caught virtually everything thrown his way in April. Smith (6-3, 209), meanwhile, has continued to improve his route running and pass catching, and remains one of New Mexico’s most explosive players with the ball in his hands.
It’s not just a two-man game, however, as senior Thomas Wilson (6-1, 178) and sophomores Jonathan Brooks (6-1, 179) and Jason Caprioli (6-0, 176) have all enjoyed an excellent spring so far. Brooks, in particular, has seemed to come down with nearly every ball thrown his way.
While UNM quarterbacks now have a multitude of receivers to choose from, it’s the tight ends that have provided perhaps the biggest boost to the passing game this spring. Building off his strong Division I debut last year, senior John Mulchrone (6-4, 240) is poised to establish himself as one of the best true tight ends in the MWC this season. Big, fast, strong and incredibly sure-handed, Mulchrone is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses. Redshirt freshman Luke Walters (6-4, 210) has been one of the best surprises of the spring, making play after play downfield, while sophomore Chris Mark (6-5, 256) gives UNM a physical presence at the line of scrimmage and is a big passing target.
On An Island
Cornerback has traditionally been one of the most demanding and important positions on the UNM defense. With as many as nine players blitzing on any given play, the Lobo corners are expected to be focused playmakers on every single snap. It’s no surprise then that New Mexico corners have earned all-conference honors five of the past six years, including first team picks in 2004 and ’05.
This season, a group of talented young players are vying to replace departed seniors Gabriel Fulbright, Jerrell Malone and Mike Powdrell who combined for eight interceptions and six pass break-ups last fall. Junior Juamar Hall (5-11, 172), the lone returnee with D-I experience, stepped into a starting role during the final two games of 2005 and showed great quickness and awareness in coverage. Sophomore transfer Glover Quin (5-10, 200) has made an immediate impact this spring, while redshirt freshmen Ian Clark (6-0, 187) and Mike Vandenberg (6-2, 165) have displayed tremendous potential. All four have proven to be active playmakers, frustrating the Lobo quarterbacks on several occasions in practice.
While the battle for the two starting spots will surely continue into fall camp, the Lobo pass defense appears to be in good hands for years to come with this young crop of corners.
Class of 2005 Still Making Waves
New Mexico’s 14 fifth-year seniors last fall never experienced a losing season in their college careers, leading the Lobos to 34 wins and three bowl games between 2001-05, and they’re not done yet.
As many as four UNM players are expected to be selected in the 2006 NFL Draft next weekend (April 29-30) with WR Hank Baskett III, C Ryan Cook, RB DonTrell Moore and OT Terrence Pennington all on several draft watch lists. New Mexico, which saw OG Claude Terrell (4th round) and LB Nick Speegle (6th round) picked last spring, has never had more than two players selected since the NFL Draft went to seven rounds in 1994. UNM had three players picked in 1981 and a program best four taken in 1977. The NFL Draft had 12 rounds in both years. Several more players from the class of 2005 also have a good shot at landing in NFL training camps as free agents.
Three former players, meanwhile, are still competing in Cherry and Silver for head coach Matt Henry’s Lobo track and field team. Former CB Mike Powdrell is the Mountain West Conference’s top long jump and among the league’s best high jumpers, while former WR Aaron Brack is among the MWC’s top 100-meter men. Jerrell Malone, another former CB, has been a key member of the Lobos’ third-ranked 4×100-meter relay team. Current UNM wide receiver Marcus Smith was a conference finalist in the 200-meter dash last spring and could still earn a spot on the travel list for the MWC meet (May 10-13) despite the late spring football schedule this year.
Throughout Henry’s six years, the men’s track team has maintained close ties with head coach Rocky Long’s football program as Long has allowed any players in good academic standing to train and compete with the track team after completing their spring football commitments. Since 2001, eight scholarship football players have competed for the UNM track team, including five on associate head coach Mark Henry’s sprint crew. Over the past five years, the Lobo football players have combined to earn all-MWC honors nine times (all outdoors), including a high jump title by former wide receiver Hank Baskett III in 2004.
Powdrell, Brack and Malone will all be in action on Saturday, April 29 when New Mexico hosts its lone home meet of the spring, the 16th annual Don Kirby Memorial Invitational at the UNM Track Stadium. The meet runs from approximately 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and admission is free.