Aug. 14, 2006
The University of New Mexico has completed its first full week of preseason workouts in preparation for the 108th football season that begins Saturday, Sept. 2, at home against Portland State. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. at University Stadium.
The Lobos have conducted nine practices with nine more slated this week before the 2006 fall semester gets underway next Monday. Several starting positions are still being contested as preseason training camp reaches the midway point.
Sophomore Rodney Ferguson has begun to improve his stock at tailback, but junior Martelius Epps and sophomore Paul Baker have done nothing to lose ground in the competition for the starting job.
Epps continues to be the most explosive runner in the open field, while Baker has consistently frustrated would-be tacklers with his agility, turning minimal gains into good yards on several occasions. Ferguson, meanwhile, has elevated his intensity over the past few days and has been pounding out the tough yards during the full contact scrimmages.
Elsewhere on offense, senior Patrick Hodges appears to have settled in at right guard, while junior Vince Natali has secured his starting job at center.
The starting lineup on the defensive side of the ball is close to being solidified, but right linebacker and both wolf safety positions have seen some recent changes. Junior George Carter is now manning the open linebacker spot opposite returning starter Cody Kase, while fellow juniors Tyson Ditmore and OJ Swift are atop the depth chart at left and right safety.
Sophomore Blake Ligon is still a big factor in the battle for the starting job and true freshman Frankie Solomon has put himself in the mix with strong training camp performance. Sophmore DeAndre Wright, meanwhile, has moved over to cornerback after earning Freshman All-America honors, along with Ligon, at safety last fall. Wright will play a back-up role as he works to learn the new position, but could rise up the depth chart quickly with his size and athletic ability.
With less than three weeks left until the season-opener there is still much work to be done, but UNM head coach Rocky Long said he has been pleased with how the team has responded to the challenging training camp practices.
“The effort has been really good and I think we’re seeing signs on both offense and defense that some good things can happen this year,” Long said. “We have a very complicated defense and a very complicated offense, so we’ve thrown a lot of stuff at them so far. There’s a lot of mental preparation they need to make, not just physical.”
Long said that the team will begin to prepare specifically for Portland State when school begins on Monday, Aug. 21. The No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense will continue to square off in practice, however, in order to get the best simulation of gameday speed. The team will focus exclusively on Portland State during practice the week of Aug. 28.
UNM, picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll, will hold two-a-day practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9-11 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. and single workouts Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8:30 p.m. All practices are open to the media and the public.
Saturday (Aug. 19) will be a busy day at University Stadium. A Lobo Yard Sale will be held on the north concourse of the stadium from noon to 2 p.m. The annual Football Fan Photo Day gets underway at 2 p.m. as the football team conducts a two-hour practice session. The afternoon will conclude around 4 p.m. as fans can meet their favorite Lobos. The team will also sign autographs.