April 12, 2008
The 2008 Lobo football spring practice season will offer plenty of intrigue with several key position battles on offense. When the players put on the pads for the first time on Saturday, the competition will really begin to heat up among the offensive linemen and wide receivers.
The offensive line unit, better known as The Hitmen, return versatile junior Erik Cook who started nine times at both tackle and guard in 2007. Cook has also seen plenty of gameday action at center, where he will open the spring season. The rest of the group, however, is a bit of an unknown at this point with three junior college transfers, five returning lettermen and several talented redshirt freshman battling for four starting jobs.
“We have a lot of work to accomplish in a short amount of time during the spring but I’m pleased with everyone’s effort,” said second year offensive line coach Jason Lenzmeier. “As a group they’re excited and we’ve been meeting in the mornings so helpfully they’re starting to understand everything.”
Junior Ivan Hernandez (6-6, 295) and redshirt freshman Byron Bell (6-5, 296) will open the spring atop the depth chart at left and right tackle, respectively, while sophomores Mike Cannon (6-3, 302) and Derek Tallent (6-4, 309) will get the first crack at the starting guard spots. Several players are expected to compete for the starting jobs at all five spots.
Senior Sylvester Hatten (6-3, 308) started five games at left tackle last year before taking a leave of absence, while junior transfers Karlin Givens (6-3, 295 – right tackle), Joshua Taufalele (6-2, 320 – right guard) and Ben Contreras (6-2, 300 – center) were all brought in to compete immediately. Contreras, a junior college All-American last year at City College of San Francisco, could slide Cook over to guard or tackle with rapid development this spring.
Senior guard Matt Streid (6-3, 321) is entering his third year in the program and could be a factor as well.
“We have to be physical up front and once we get into full pads I’ll have a better idea of who can compete at this level,” Lenzmeier said.
The Lobos must replace the most productive wide receiver tandem in school history in NFL hopefuls Travis Brown and Marcus Smith. Junior quarterback Donovan Porterie has plenty of talented targets with five veteran receivers returning, including six-game starter Roland Bruno. Sophomore transfer Bryant Williams – a former Michigan State signee – was also added to the mix to bolster the receiving group this spring.
Junior Daryl Jones (6-3, 207) and sophomore Chris Hernandez (6-3, 185) give UNM a pair of tall, rangy targets to compliment the elusive Bruno (5-10, 166) in the Lobos’ three-receiver package. Senior Jermaine McQueen (6-2, 180) is the fastest of the group and could emerge as a legitimate deep threat as he polishes his overall technique. The solid Williams (5-11, 180) and sure-handed senior Jonathan Brooks (6-1, 189) will also vie for time this spring.