Aug. 5, 2006
Head Coach Rocky Long
On beginning training camp:
“Our first practice is tonight. We are a very young football team with very few starters back and very few guys who have a lot of experience, but we have good athletes on our team. We have a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement right now. I thought they did a nice job in spring practice. I thought they did an outstanding job of working in the summer. I thought their enthusiasm for summer workouts is the best we have ever had.”
On having an experienced quarterback (Sr. Kole McKamey) back to lead the offense:
“I think we have a very good quarterback. I think our quarterback is experienced and I think he has the best potential to be the best quarterback in this league. Now this league as a whole has a lot of good returning quarterbacks. I think that Kole is one of the best and one of the better athletes in this league at quarterback and has the potential to be as good a quarterback as there is in this league.”
On coaching a younger team differently:
“I don’t think we have to do anything different then coach them like we always do. I think these players are excited about playing, especially the ones that haven’t played much before. I don’t think there is any concern in looking past Portland State. I think they are just excited about playing. I don’t think we have to do anything except coach them hard, make sure they know what to do and then let them loose on game day.”
On going back to a 12-game regular season schedule:
“I am all for playing 12 games. Players want to play games. So they add another game and it gives the players another chance to play, and then if we’re good enough we’ll play 13. I think our guys would like to play 15 or 16 – the pros play that many. That argument that they will miss school – our players don’t miss school. Our guys leave the complex at 2 or 3 in the afternoon on Friday and we are back on Saturday night.”
On the winning tradition at New Mexico:
“I think our team is a competitive football team and I think the expectation level has been raised in this program, not only by the fans, but the coaching staff’s expectation level has been raised. The players’ expectation level has been raised. There was a time nine years ago were we were just hoping to win a game but now our guys expect to win.”
Junior Wide Receiver Travis Brown
On the start of 2006 training camp:
“We’ve had a chip on our shoulder and it’s been there for a long time, but we’re not going to dwell on the past. It’s time for the future. We’re going in with a new mindset.”
On former Lobo WR Hank Baskett’s success thus far in the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp:
“Everything Hank did, he always shared a little wisdom with me. He would pull me to the side and he treated me like a brother. I’m happy for Hank. I does help give you an extra boost of confidence knowing that somebody that was once in my shoes can go out and do what he’s doing.”
On replacing Baskett in the UNM offense:
“I don’t feel pressure to fill Hank’s shoes, but I do put pressure on myself to go out and do what needs to be done to help this team win games.”
On QB Kole McKamey:
“Kole is a great quarterback. We’re looking forward to him doing some big things for us this year. He spread the ball around real nice in the spring and hopefully he has a breakout season this year.”
“You can’t take away the bond that Kole and Hank (Baskett) had, but I’m looking to come in and have a similar bond and be real close on and off the field with Kole. A quarterback needs that trust in his receivers, so whatever I need to do to earn Kole’s trust is what I’m going to do.”
Senior Offensive Tackle Robert Turner
On the start of 2006 training camp:
“I’m confident in the guys we’ve got, confident in the offense we’re putting in and from a personal standpoint, I’m ready to get back on the field, get going and get set in my new position.”
“We’re probably, as a team, in the best shape we’ve been in since I’ve been here. (Strength and conditioning coach (Mark) Paulsen instituted a new conditioning program, we changed things up a little bit, it was a lot more useable strength, useable flexibility, useable conditioning.”
On the wrist injury that kept him out of spring practice:
“The wrist feels great. I hated sitting out the spring, but it was best for me. A lot of guys that got reps during the spring wouldn’t have gotten reps if I’d been in there because I don’t come out of the game and I don’t miss practices. As a unit, me being held out of spring practice probably helped a lot of the younger guys.”
On how the new offensive play-calling terminology affects the linemen:
“Well blocking is blocking. I think the biggest thing is getting adjusted to the new calls. It’s always the terminology that gets people confused. A base block is a base block, but if you have a different name for it and it comes in a different formation, that’s going to be more difficult for a guy to pick up that it will be to execute the block. We may have gotten used to the old system, but you just have to make the adjustment and do your job.”
Senior Quarterback Kole McKamey
On entering his senior year at UNM:
“It’s the same enthusiasm, the same excitement, but it’s the last go-around and the last chance for me to make an impact in this program, this city, this state, myself and the coaches. Tonight’s our first practice, I can’t wait to get out there.”
On facing change and learning a new offense:
“This is the third that I’ve had to learn a new offense. For me it’s nothing new. I go into it with a good attitude and try to learn as much as I can so that I can be at the point where I know everything I need to know from the first game.”
On what he most wants to accomplish in his final year:
“Two things – and I’ve been asked this question a lot. Stay healthy. That’s the most important thing for me is stay healthy. I think with my offseason work and training, that’s going to happen. I’m in the best shape of my life, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, I’m on a great nutrition plan and I think staying healthy is going to happen for me. Second, we need to win. Since I’ve been here, we’ve won here and there and we’ve lost here and there, and that’s not acceptable. I want to win, I want to be the conference champs, I want to go to a bowl game and I want to win a bowl game. I want to leave something with this program that people say ten years from now, `Kole McKamey, you know what, his senior year, he got it done.'”
Senior Lobo Quincy Black
On the youth of this year’s team:
“Sometimes it’s good to have that youthful exuberance. We’ve got a lot of guys who really want to play. They want to be out there and they are excited about having the opportunity to play. I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a good thing.”
On playing the Lobo position:
“I love it. Coach (Rocky) Long is a defensive genius and we all know that. There are so many things you can do out of that position. If you can’t love playing this position then I don’t think you can love football, especially if you are a defensive guy. I like the variety. I like everything about the position. The biggest thing is the coaches have the confidence in me to be able to play that position. There are things I am going to be doing that no one else is going to be doing. To have that confidence in me is cool.”
Junior Tailback Martelius Epps
On being the first string running back heading into the training camp:
“I’m just going to go out everyday at practice and do the best I can. I want to help my teammates get better and help the team get better. I want to be a team player.”
On possibly sharing playing time:
“I’m not sure how coach is going to split up our playing time. I’m just going to do whatever the coaches ask from me.”
On the new offense:
“At first, the offense was like a foreign language to me but over the spring and summer I’ve gotten a better understanding of it. I feel pretty good about the offense right now, but I still have a lot to learn.”
On having competition for the running back position:
“You always want to learn from what the other guys have done. The competition is going to make everyone better, but you can’t afford to make to many mistakes because it’s going to bring you down (on the depth chart).”