Aug. 16, 2007
After finishing my high school career as a pretty successful linebacker I had dreams of continuing that success at the University of New Mexico. Upon arriving at UNM, however, it was not long before I underwent the all too familiar freshman position change. The linebacker group was stacked with experienced and talented players and the coaching staff felt I could make an immediate impact at a different position – the defensive line. Changing positions was unpleasant at first, but would prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to me.
My next three years at UNM would be some of the best years of my life. After a rough transition year I took to the new position and began to excel and enjoy playing in such an important spot. The defensive line, as a coach of mine stated many times over, “is where the game is won and lost.” It would not be long before I was completely one with the new position and could not imagine life playing anywhere else.
I have been a part of many special groups of athletes over the years, but I look back at playing defensive line with as one of the best because of the friendships and bonds I was able to build with my fellow linemen. Playing with the likes of Daniel Kegler, Zach Rupp, Hebrews Josue, Kyle Coulter, Marcus Parker and others makes me feel tremendously lucky to have had the chance to become family with such great athletes and people. Though we were not the most physically gifted bunch I guarantee there are opponents to this day that can attest to the fact that we played with more heart and determination than any other defensive line they had ever come across.
We were a very successful team during my years at UNM and I would like to believe that the great group of guys we had playing defensive line was a big reason for our defensive success.
New Mexico begins the 2007 season with an equally talented and inspired group of defensive linemen that many expect great things from. Like my group, they are not the biggest or fastest group, but in traditional Lobo form they play with tremendous amounts of heart and determination.
Tyler Donaldson, Michael Tuohy, and Wesley Beck anchor an experienced and talented group up front for the Lobos. Donaldson, an all-Mountain West performer a year ago, will look to conclude his career by building on the success he has already enjoyed. Tuohy hopes to return to impressive form he displayed in prior seasons and Beck will look to improve on a solid sophomore season and establish himself as a true force in the middle for the Lobos.
I had a chance to sit down with this new generation of linemen and found out that they’re not about to take a back seat to any other defensive line unit in the Mountain West Conference. In fact, they believe they could be one of the best D-line groups ever to play at UNM.
I don’t think me or my former teammates are ready to crown them yet – we’re still pretty proud of our performance in `03 – but we’ll all be rooting for the 2007 group to carry on our D-line pride.
Click here for my entire ALL-ACCESS interview with the starting D-line.
-D.J.
David J. Renteria was a four-year letterman (1999-2003) and two-year starter on the defensive line at New Mexico. Renteria was a first team all-Mountain West Conference selection in 2003, when he helped lead the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense, and a second team pick in ’02. The Roswell, N.M. native finished his career tied for ninth all-time at UNM with 34.5 tackles for loss. He also had 14 sacks and 111 tackles in 49 games (29 starts). Renteria played professionally for three years with the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos organizations. He is currently working as a student assistant in the UNM Athletics Media Relations office and will earn his degree in Communications in December of ’07.