New Mexico Spring Football Starts Monday, April 16

SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Monday, April 16 – 3-5 p.m. (helmets)

Tuesday, April 17 – 3-5 p.m. (helmets)

Wednesday, April 18 – 6-7:30 a.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Thursday, April 19 – 3-5 p.m. (full pads)

Friday, April 20 – 6-7:30 a.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Saturday, April 21 – 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. (scrimmage – full pads)

Monday, April 23 – 3-5 p.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Tuesday, April 24 – 3-5 p.m. (full pads)

Wednesday, April 25 – 6-7:30 a.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Thursday, April 26 – 3-5 p.m. (full pads)

Friday, April 27 – 6-7:30 a.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Saturday, April 28 – 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. (scrimmage – full pads)

Monday, April 30 – 3-5 p.m. (shoulder pads/helmets)

Tuesday, May 1 – 3-5 p.m. (helmets)

CHERRY-SILVER GAME (full pads)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 6 p.m.
UNIVERSITY STADIUM FREE ADMISSION

SPRING PRACTICE COVERAGE ON GOLOBOS.COM

Log on to GoLobos.com every day this spring for complete New Mexico Spring Football coverage, including practice reports, position battles, player and coach interviews, photos and more.

The UNM media relations office will be bringing you all angles of the 2007 spring practice season, culminating in the annual Cherry-Silver game. Former Lobo and all-Mountain West Conference defensive end D.J. Renteria will also writing a series of columns, exclusively on GoLobos.com, that will provide a player’s perspective on spring practice and the life of a college football player.

2007 SPRING PRACTICE OVERVIEW

A Q & A WITH HEAD COACH Rocky Long

There is a wealth of optimism surrounding the University of New Mexico football program as it enters the 2007 spring football season. New Mexico returns a whopping 43 lettermen and 18 offensive and defensive starters, including six all-Mountain West Conference honorees from last year’s New Mexico Bowl team.

In what many saw as a rebuilding season in 2006, the Lobos won six games for the sixth straight year and made their fourth bowl appearance in the past five years. Nine players earned all-MWC honors, including five first team selections, which were tied for second in the league.

Head coach Rocky Long remains a constant at UNM, guiding his alma mater to a 40-31 record since the 2001 season, including a 27-17 mark in MWC games. Long is the program’s all-time leader in wins (52), games coached (109) and bowl game participation (4).

Long and fifth-year defensive coordinator Osia Lewis direct an aggressive, ball-hawking defense that returns 10 starters and 23 lettermen from a year ago, giving the unit experienced depth at almost every position. Long and Lewis adjust the 3-3-5 scheme constantly to best suit the talent on the field and this year is no exception. The “Lobo” safety position played by linebacker Quincy Black in 2006 will once again be manned by a true defensive back, helping New Mexico bolster its pass defense.

The Lobos front six will feature seven defensive linemen and seven linebackers with significant gameday experience, led by seniors Tyler Donaldson (defensive end – second team all-MWC defensive end), Cody Kase (middle linebacker – honorable mention all-MWC in `05), and Major Mosley (outside linebacker). Three more starters in senior outside linebacker George Carter, junior nose tackle Wesley Beck and senior defensive end Michael Tuohy also return up front.

Junior CB Glover Quin

New Mexico’s secondary is led by perhaps the top cornerback tandem in the conference in juniors DeAndre Wright (second team all-MWC) and Glover Quin (honorable mention all-MWC). Last year the duo combined for four interceptions and 22 pass break-ups. Senior safety OJ Swift is the team’s top returning tackler (74 in 2006), while fellow senior Tyson Ditmore has started 16 of his 33 career games at safety. Sophomore Ian Clark, a former cornerback, will open the spring atop the depth chart at the Lobo position.

For the second straight spring, however, most of the attention will be on the Lobo offense, which will feature a new coordinator for the third year in a row and the fourth different system in the past four years. Former Michigan State offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin was brought in to replace Bob Toledo, who was named head coach at Tulane in 2006. Baldwin’s versatile and explosive attack put up some impressive numbers at Michigan State and with 18 lettermen and eight starters returning at UNM, he has the talent to make an immediate impact in 2007.

Three new position coaches will also add some excitement to the spring with Buzz Preston (formerly at Stanford and Notre Dame) in charge of the running backs, Matt Wells (formerly at Tulsa) directing the wide receivers and former Lobo standout Jason Lenzmeier leading the offensive line – a group that earned its “Hitmen” moniker during his playing days.

The New Mexico backfield is set with junior tailback Rodney Ferguson, the MWC’s leading rusher last year, junior fullback Matt Quillen and sophomore quarterback Donovan Porterie returning to the starting lineup. While Quillen will be limited during the spring after undergoing offseason surgery, Ferguson will look to build on his first team all-conference season and make a national name for himself in ’07. Porterie, meanwhile, will go through his first preseason practices as the starting quarterback. He started 2006 as the No. 3 signal-caller, but went on to earn honorable mention freshman All-America recognition in his debut season.

Seniors Travis Brown and Marcus Smith established themselves as one of the top wide receiver tandems in UNM history last fall, combining for 117 receptions, 1,726 yards and 13 touchdowns, despite catching passes from three different starting quarterbacks. Brown led the team in both receptions and yards to earn first team all-MWC honors, while Smith was an honorable mention all-conference pick after averaging 16.2 yards per catch and pulling in nine touchdowns.

Three senior starters return on the offensive line, including a pair of all-conference candidates in tackle Devin Clark and guard Anthony Kilby. Clark made an immediate impact in his first Division I season last fall, earning some of the team’s top grades in 12 starts. Kilby, a two-year starter at tackle, enjoyed a strong late season surge and could be a dominant player at guard this year. Center Vince Natali, meanwhile, started all 13 games last year, but underwent offseason surgery and will not participate in contact drills this spring.

UNM signed three junior college offensive linemen to compete for the two open starting spots at right guard and left tackle, while promising sophomore Erik Cook will man the center position with Natali sidelined this spring. Junior Chris Mark will open the spring as the new starter at tight end, but will have competition from sophomore Luke Walters. Three transfers were also signed to battle for the job.

The Lobos will also be looking for a diamond in the rough to replace starting kicker Kenny Byrd, who earned MWC Special Teams Player of the Year honors and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist for the second straight season in 2006. Senior Eric garrison and junior John Sullivan are the top candidates in a competition that is expected to continue well into August. Seniors Jordan Scott and Jon O’Brien, meanwhile, return to form the punter-deep snapper battery.

Long sat down to share his thoughts as he prepared for the 2007 spring practice season.

As you enter your 10th spring football season at UNM, what would you say have been the biggest positive changes in the program from 1998 to 2007?

Junior TB Rodney Ferguson

“I think there are several things. We’ve proved that we can consistently be among the top half of our league each year, so we’re a much more competitive football team. Our overall talent level has improved quite a bit since I first got here. We have a lot more New Mexico players that are impact players on the team. I think in order for any program to be successful, you have to have a core of in-state talent. Plus it helps your attendance because fans want to come out and support their home state. We’ve also improved academically and our national image is much better than it was in ’98.”

Last year was filled with ups and downs, but you accomplished quite a bit with a young team – how pleased were you with the character and fight your players and coaches showed in 2006?

“I thought last year was a very positive season. Going into the season we were very inexperienced and I knew we would have a big struggle, but I thought the team made a lot of improvement. You could see what kind of competitors were in our program by the number of close wins we had and the number of large deficits we overcame to win games. I thought at the beginning of the year that the season would be a success if we got to a bowl game and that’s what we did.”

You return a much more experienced team in 2007, but had some changes on the coaching staff – how do you think that will impact spring practice?

“We’ve lost some coaches who went to other schools either for more responsibility or higher pay, but that’s also a sign of a program’s success. So we’re putting in a new offense and we’re going to do everything that we can to give the players a chance to understand the offense by the end of spring practice. We have more experienced players this year, so the transition ought to be smoother and faster.”

Obviously a lot of eyes will be on the offense – how critical is it for the players to master the new scheme this spring and what impact do you think the new position coaches will have?

“That’s really important. I thought last year when we went into fall camp, the inexperience was a big factor and we weren’t very sure of ourselves on offense. I think it took until the fourth or fifth game of the season for us to be confident in what we were doing on offense. Inexperienced players don’t adjust quite as fast.”

“With new faces and a different approach to teaching, there’s no boredom factor. Everything will be energetic and exciting, which makes the learning process as little easier.”

You had three different starting quarterbacks last fall, including Donovan Porterie, who will go through his first preseason practices as the starter – how important is it for him to really solidify himself as one of the offensive leaders?

“I thought Donovan proved himself last year, bringing us from behind a couple times to win games. So I don’t have any concerns with Donovan. He’ll be much better after spring practice than he was at the end of the season.”

How do you feel about your depth at quarterback and do you think after the personnel changes last year there will be more intensity in how your No. 2 and No. 3 guys prepare during the spring?

“I think Donovan starts the spring as the No. 1 guy, but I don’t necessarily think the other guys are going to give him the job. Donovan has the lead because he played last year, but I think it will be a very competitive spring at several positions and quarterback is one of them. That will improve our ability to develop a backup – whoever the backup is – in case there’s an injury problem.”

The wide receiver and running back positions were big question marks entering last spring, but Travis Brown and Marcus Smith, and Rodney Ferguson really solidified those spots during the season – what would you like to see out of those positions this spring?

“I’d like to see their game step-up. I think they played really well throughout most of last season, but they’ve got room to be even better this year. We also have some young talent that needs to be developed behind those guys so that you don’t lose quite as much if one of them were to get hurt. I think there’s some really good young talent (at receiver and running back) that didn’t play much last year, but it’s nice to have experienced guys at the top of the depth chart.”

You brought in several new offensive linemen to compete with your veteran players – what does the offensive line need to work on this spring in order to improve on last year and be a strength of the team in `07?

“I have a lot of confidence in the skill guys that are returning because they proved it last year. The offensive line has three starters coming back, but someone has to step up. Our two departed senior guards were pretty good players. We need some guys to play at least as well as our guards did last year and hopefully better. The same goes for the tight end. Someone has to step up there and prove that he’s a go-to guy. We’ve got a better situation on the offensive line this year in that we have more experienced players returning. Last year we had to count on a brand new guy to be one of our starting tackles, but this year we’ve got more players that have been in the program for awhile. Now we’ve also got two brand new guys here and ready to compete for those guard spots this spring, so there will be competition and the best guy will play.”

You’re always adjusting the defensive scheme and looking for ways to keep opponents guessing each year – what changes are you making this spring?

“Our lobo position this year will be manned by a defensive back instead of a linebacker-type like Quincy Black. The scheme will look a little more like it was in 2002 and ’03 when DBs like Sidney Wiley and Brandon Ratcliff were back there.”

A lot of defensive linemen played and made a big impact last year – how will the depth and continued development of the group help the defense overall?

Senior DE Tyler Donaldson

“We have a lot of experience in the D-line because we played a lot of guys. Last year we were really undersized though. Some of them have made really good improvement with their size in strength during the offseason. You would think that the experience factor along with some of them getting bigger and stronger would mean that we’ll play a lot better up front. It all starts with the line of scrimmage. If you can dominate the line of scrimmage your going to be a good defense. If you have a stalemate, then it becomes a matter of how well you match-up with the skill positions. If you don’t at least have a stalemate at the line of scrimmage, you don’t have a chance.”

Cody Kase, one of your most experienced defensive players, will shift to middle linebacker this spring – how much of an adjustment will that be for him?

“Well, he’s the most experienced and he understands the scheme as well or better than anybody else on defense. Last year, our middle linebacker was basically Quincy Black. He was a deep middle linebacker (playing the lobo position), but he filled the middle with two outside linebackers on either side. Our three linebackers, just like our three defensive linemen and safeties, can play all three positions in our scheme. You can move them from side to side or in the middle and they should understand each position’s responsibilities. Because of the scheme, it ought to add to your depth. You can use a nose guard at defensive end, you can use a middle linebacker at outside linebacker and an outside safety as the lobo. That’s on purpose. You want to put your best players on the field.”

Linebackers Major Mosely and George Carter were solid in their first year as starters in 2006, how much improvement do you think they’re capable of with a full season under their belt?

“They should be able to make a lot of improvement because they’re both really good athletes and now they’ve got a good amount of gameday experience. It gives you more chances to make plays if you react correctly to what the offense is doing. The experience those guys got last year is really going to make a difference in how many more plays they’re able to make this season.”

There were a lot of unknowns about the cornerback position entering the 2006 season as well, but Glover Quin and DeAndre Wright had a strong season and now could be the best tandem of corners you’ve had entering spring practice – how much more effective is this defense when they’re both playing at the top of their game?

“If your corners are good, it allows you to be a lot more aggressive. You don’t have to do as much to help them in coverage, which frees up other players to apply pressure or limit what the offense wants to do. Our corners developed last year, but I thought they were very inconsistent. They just need to keep getting better during practice so that everyday they play well. Both of them had some really good games last year and a couple games where they didn’t look very good.”

With so many teams spreading the ball around in multiple receiver formations have the responsibilities of the safeties in this defense changed over the past few years?

“Yeah, they do have to be better man-coverage guys than they had to be a few years ago. Most teams put their best wide receivers in a slot position to try to create a one-on-one match-up against a safety. So it’s really important that they are good cover guys. We played a lot of safeties last year and they all got better as we went. This year we’ve moved Ian Clark, a former cornerback, to the lobo position so his man-coverage skills should help us there. I think our experience should help us. Experience gives you confidence and if you’re confident you’re a lot better defender.”

There’s a lot of experienced players throughout the two-deep of your defense – is your defense more effective when lots of players are rotating in and out or would you prefer to see clear-cut starters at each position?

“Last year we had to play a lot of guys because there were only a few spots where we had experience. So we ended up developing depth and improving attitudes by letting so many guys play. There will be times when injuries hit and you might need a guy to come off the bench and play the whole game. We’ve got a lot of guys this year in our two-deep who are used to playing and who we have confidence in playing if a starter were to go down. I think the more players you can rotate in and out, the fresher you’ll be and the more active you’ll be throughout an entire game.”

You’ve had one of the most dependable kicking games in the MWC the past four years, but this will be a important spring for that group – is there somebody on the roster who can be like Kenny Byrd was for you, developing from an unknown to an offensive weapon?

“When you look at our kicking game, we have a good deep snapper and a proven punter, which are both very important. What we don’t have is a proven kicker. Whether or not our new kicker can kick off like Kenny did, the most important thing we need to have is consistency kicking field goals. That has a big effect on your offensive philosophy or knowing how far you need to go to win a game. Kenny improved his range every year, so that by the time he was a senior we were confident in him out over 40 yards. I think we have some guys that can develop the consistency even if they don’t have the same kind of range. We’ll also have two or three kickers come during the fall as walk-ons and we’ll let them compete with the guys we have coming back. What we might end up with is using two kickers – an experienced guy who is consistent, but without deep range and a young, inconsistent kicker with a great leg.”

PRESEASON NOTES

UNM HISTORY
The University of New Mexico begins its 109th season of football in 2007. The Lobos have an all-time record of 436-499-31.

The school was founded in 1889. Three years later, the first football game was played on Oct. 7, 1892, when a team representing UNM played a squad from Albuquerque High School in a vacant lot north of the town’s ice factory. The preps prevailed 5-0. The territory of New Mexico was not granted statehood until 1912.

2007 PERSONNEL; MOST STARTERS BACK UNDER LONG
The Lobos return 43 lettermen for 2007, including 18 position starters, eight on offense and 10 on defense. That’s the most returning starters for head coach Rocky Long in his 10 seasons at New Mexico. The previous high had been 17 returning for the 2003 season.

Senior WR Travis Brown

UNM returns 18 lettermen on offense, 23 on defense and two specialists.

A total of 25 Lobos (10 on offense and 15 on defense) bring a cumulative 284 games of starting experience into the 2007 season. That nearly doubles last year’s total of 152 starts among 17 players.

UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS UNDER Rocky Long
Four bowl games in the past five years after six postseason appearances between 1938-2001

UNM is the only school in the Mountain West Conference that has been bowl eligible and produced at least six wins in each of the past six seasons (2001-06). That’s also a first in Lobo history.

The Lobos have 40 wins since 2001, the second-most by New Mexico in a six-year span. UNM had 41 from 1959-64.

New Mexico has a 23-14 conference record since 2002 (27-17 since 2001), the second-most wins in the league over that span.

The program’s top-13 semester grade-point-averages have been attained under Rocky Long, all in the past 14 terms since the 2000 spring semester

SECOND YEAR FOR NEW MEXICO BOWL
The second New Mexico Bowl will be played Dec. 22, 2007, at University Stadium in Albuquerque. ESPN will televised the game live at 2:30 Mountain Time. The bowl game matches teams from the Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference.

San Jose State beat New Mexico 20-12 in last year’s inaugural game in front of 34,111 fans at University Stadium.

ESPN Regional Television (ERT) is responsible for the bowl’s organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more. Under the direction of ERT, the University of New Mexico provides marketing, management and game day operations support for the bowl. Jeff Siembieda is the Executive Director. Former UNM athletics director Rudy Davalos is Chairman of the Executive Board.

INDOOR PRACTICE FACILITY UNDERWAY
Slated for completion before 2-a-days begin in early August, the $7 million indoor practice facility was funded by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and members of the state legislature.

The new facility was designed by the Albuquerque architectural firm of Molzen-Corbin & Associates. The general contractor is The Jaynes Corporation of Albuquerque.

The facility measures 70 yards wide by 136.7 yards in length for a total of 86,100 square feet. This size encompasses a full football field with a 7-yard run-out on both ends and sides. The building is approximately 76 feet tall with 70 feet clear height along the ridgeline. It will be constructed of a steel truss supporting members with a polyclad fabric in tension stretched over the steel superstructure and also lining the inside of the structure. The bottom 12 feet of the outside will be clad with steel siding panels. The building has steel doors for entries and exits as well as overhead coiling doors for convenience and ventilation during fair weather. The facility will contain two filming towers, one at mid-field and one at the north end zone. The entire interior floor surface will be artificial turf. Although the building fabric cladding has translucent properties, the building is designed to attain approximately 80 foot-candles indoors after dark.

COACHING CHANGES AGAIN
For the second consecutive season, Rocky Long has four new offensive assistant coaches on his staff.

Dave Baldwin is the Lobos’ third offensive coordinator in as many seasons after the departure of Bob Toledo to become head coach at Tulane. Baldwin served the past four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Michigan State.

Coaching the Lobo wide receivers is Matt Wells, who spent the past five seasons as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa. Wells replaces long-time assistant Dan Dodd who joined Toledo at Tulane.

The new running backs coach is veteran assistant Buzz Preston, who spent last season at Stanford and from 2002-04 at Notre Dame. Preston takes over for Cornell Jackson, who accepted a position at Baylor.

The new offensive line coach is not a new name to Lobos’ fans. Former UNM all-conference performer Jason Lenzmeier begins his first season as a full-time staff member after seving as a graduate assistant in 2006. Lenzmeier, 26, is New Mexico’s youngest full-time assistant coach since 1984 when Greg Azar, then 24, coached the Lobo defensive line. Lenzmeier was a four-year starter for UNM on the offensive line from 2000-03, earning first team all-Mountain West Conference honors at offensive tackle as a senior.

DEVELOPMENT OF WALK-ONS IS IMPRESSIVE
Some of the better-known Lobos began their careers as walk-ons, including eight team captains since 2001: Jarrod Baxter (2001), Josh Bazinet (2004), Terrell Golden (2003), Brian Johnson (2001), Casey Kelly (2002-03), Mohammed Konte (2001) and Mike Mohoric (2005) all started their UNM careers without athletic scholarships.

Nine members of the 2006 team began as walk-ons: NT Billy Brittain, K Kenny Byrd, WR Jason Caprioli, QB Bryan Clampitt, DE Stephen Hutchison, CB Daniel Lowney, deep snapper Jon O’Brien, TE Curtis Pino and P Jordan Scott.

Current walk-ons who were contributors to the team in 2006 were starting NT Wesley Beck and back-up NT Jeremiah Lovato.

Baxter, a fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2002, was a walk-on during the fall semester of 1997 under former head coach Dennis Franchione. He was placed on scholarship in the spring of 1998. Johnson, a two-time first team all-conference selection, was a 195-pound walk-on running back when he came to UNM in the fall of `97. He had to wait a year for a scholarship after impressing Long and his staff during `98 spring drills. Konte, also a redshirt in `97, paid his own way for three years before being placed on aid in the fall of 2000 and earned honorable mention all-MWC honors.

The 2001 list was S Terrell Golden, a three-year starter and honorable mention all-conference in 2001, and WR Terrence Thomas.

The 2002 recipients were Bazinet, C Ryan Cook, deep snapper Martin Lovato, Ryan Rice and Wes Zunker, who was an all-MWC kicker in 2003. Cook became arguably the best center in school history. He was a three-time first team all-conference selection (2003-05) and was chosen by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Gaus, Mohoric, Selander and C Derek Watson were awarded scholarships in 2003. Mohoric was a first team all-MWC linebacker in 2005.

The list in 2004 was Brittain, Jesse Demarest, Pino, CB Mike Powdrell, RB Daniel Ramirez, OG Bryan Humphreys, OG Melvin Foster, S Brandon McKinley and WR Martin Romero. Byrd, Clampitt, Hutchison, Lowney, O’Brien received scholarships before the 2005 fall semester. WR Jason Caprioli and starting P Jordan Scott were put on aid in August of 2006.

OFFENSE NOTES FROM 2006
New Mexico had 16 touchdown drives under 2 minutes and 17 that took 5 plays for less

UNM averaged 316.9 yards a game, but the average was 353.7 yards over the last 5 games compared to 285 yards the first 7

Junior CB DeAndre Wright

TB Rodney Ferguson had a tremendous sophomore season in 2006, leading the Mountain West Conference in rushing with 1,234 yards. Notables on the Albuquerque native:
– four 100-yard games, including three straight to end the season
– 1,234 yards, the 4th-best single season total in school history
– 450 yards in the last 4 games (112.5 average) and 685 in the last 6 games (114.2 average)
– a career-high 210 yards against San Diego State, becoming the 7th Lobo to surpass 200 yards and the first since DonTrell Moore had 242 vs. Colorado State in 2003
– 252 carries, 5th-most by a Lobo
– 1,525 all-purpose yards, No. 7 on the UNM single-season list

WRs Travis Brown (64) and Marcus Smith (53) gave the Lobos two receivers with 50 or more receptions in a season for only the second time in school history…Eric Morgan and Mike Henderson did it in 1990

Having a receiving tandem reach 50 catches and 800 yards in the same season is also a rarity…in fact, Brown and Smith are just the second Lobo duo to achieve such numbers:

Lobo Receiving Tandems with 50 Receptions and 800 Yards in a Season
1990: Eric Morgan (80-1,043) and Mike Henderson (55-810)
2006: Travis Brown (64-867) and Marcus Smith (53-859)

Brown has a catch in 25 consecutive games and 30 of 33 career games…he has 106 career receptions, ranking 9th all-time at UNM

Smith hauled in 9 TD receptions in 2006, tying for 4th (Don Black, 1958/Mike Henderson, 1990/Hank Baskett, 2005) on the UNM single-season list

DEFENSE NOTES FROM 2006
New Mexico tied a school record by returning 4 interceptions for TDs (Michael Tuohy, Cody Kase, Quincy Black and Blake Ligon)…the 1982 team also returned 4 for scores

CB Glover Quin had 63 tackles for the season, the most by a Lobo cornerback since Art Celestine had 72 in 1995…Quin finished the season with 12 pass breakups, tying for the 6th-most in a single season at UNM

CB DeAndre Wright finished with 14 passes defended on the season (10 PBU, 4 INT)

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