April 30, 2007
by Elaina Matsko
UNM Athletics Media Relations
The cornerback position is one of the most critical in making the New Mexico defense successful. According to head coach Rocky Long, “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.”
Throughout the 2006 season the Lobos had two corners stand out among the rest in the Mountain West Conference. Juniors Glover Quin and DeAndre Wright have teamed up to become perhaps the best tandem in the MWC at the position, both earning all-MWC honors last fall.
Quin transferred to New Mexico last year after spending two years at Southwest Mississippi CC in Summit, Miss. He made an immediate impact on the field starting all 13 games last season and led the MWC with 12 pass break-ups. An aggressive, physical player, Quin’s 63 tackles last year were the most by a UNM corner since Art Celestine had 72 in 1995.
DeAndre Wright led the team with four interceptions en route to second team all-MWC honors. |
Wright was a perfect compliment to Quin, bringing excellent speed and agility to the field. He also started all 13 games in 2006 after moving from safety to corner late in preseason training camp last year. Wright led the MWC with 14 passes defended, including a team-high four interceptions. He was among the league leaders in interceptions (T2nd), pass breakups (T2nd with 10) and his ten passes defended during MWC games was tops in the conference.
With all the success of these two corners last season and their progress during the spring I wanted to sit down and get to know a little bit more about them; why they work together so well on the field and what skills they have to make them so successful.
It was a bit of a challenge to get them to open up and feel comfortable enough to just sit and chat with me, but once they did I learned a lot about these two players. I was surprised at the fact that, despite a strong relationship on the field, these two rarely spend time off the field together. I also learned a lot about their playing styles, what they each think are their strengths and weaknesses, and why they work together so well on the field in spite of two very different playing styles.
Click on the link below to hear all that these two had to say and get to know two of the MWC’s premier corners a little better.
All-Access: Interview with cornerbacks Gover Quin and DeAndre Wright