April 15, 2008
The Lobo special teams will face quite a challenge in 2008 with open auditions for a new kicker, punter, deep snapper and holder happening this spring and summer. Few programs in the country, however, have proven as adept at excelling in this type of situation as New Mexico.
UNM has had three former walk-ons earn first team all-Mountain West Conference honors at kicker since 2003 and another former walk-on in punter Jordan Scott earn honorable mention all-league recognition last fall. The 2007 season also proved to be a banner year with unknown John Sullivan going from non-scholarship kicker to consensus All-American in the span of a semester. Sullivan received a big assist from Bryan Clampitt, who was the team’s vastly underrated holder from 2006-07.
A trio of practice squad players in redshirt freshman kicker Drew Zamora, junior punter Adam Miller, redshirt freshman deep snapper Kris Kemper and redshirt freshman holder Brad Gruner will open the spring atop the depth chart, but the competition for the starting jobs is expected to go well into August.
Zamora enjoyed a fine prep career at Colorado Springs Rampart High School and showed flashes of ability in practice last fall. Zamora, however, is one of five kickers participating in spring practice, including fifth-year senior Yousuf Shakir. Like Sullivan, Shakir has waited patiently for a starting opportunity and will look to put together a similar storybook ending to his career.
Sophomore Jason Dumas and second-semester freshmen James Aho and Garrett Hentrup could also get the mix with a strong spring season.
The punting game appears to be a two-man competition at this point with Miller battling senior Matt Barnard – a second team All-American at Mess Community College in 2005 – for the starting job. Both players have shown excellent potential, but whoever displays the most consistency will likely win out.
Kemper is the lone deep snapping specialist on the roster this spring, but linebacker Zach Arnett has also polished his snapping technique. Look for the Lobo coaching staff, however, to add at least one deep snapping specialist to the roster this summer.
Finally, Gruner will take over the unheralded, but critical, extra point and field goal holder job to start the spring, but Miller, wide receiver Roland Bruno and safety Ian Clark have also rotated in. None of those players has any gameday experience in the job, so mastering the technique over the next four months will be key.
Monday Practice Observations
By UNM Media Relations Assistant Director Chris Deal
What a nice day to play some football… a lot of good things to report on this Monday…
The Quarterbacks –
2007 starter Donovan Porterie played well during moments and showed off his arm during some passing drills. The battle for the backup spot continues to be a struggle between Brad Gruner and Blair Peterson. Gruner ran the second team offense during the inside drill but both continued to rotate during the short scrimmage. Gruner hit McQueen during a passing drill for a 35+ touchdown. Junior Victor James has shown excellent accuracy in drills and will challenge for a reserve spot as well.
The Wide Receivers –
The wide receivers showed speed and the ability to make big plays at times Monday. Senior Jermaine McQueen made a lot of catches during the workout and looked impressive at times. McQueen caught a ball in the flat during the scrimmage and raced to the end zone from 30-yards out. Sophomores Chris Hernandez and Bryant Williams were able to catch the ball and looked good.
The Offensive Line –
The Hitmen made some adjustments on Monday. Senior Sylvester Hatten jumped to the No. 1 offensive line and played left tackle during the two hours workout. Fellow senior Matt Streid also made the leap into the first team offensive line at right guard. After the fourth practice the offensive line seems to be working well together and created some holes during a short scrimmage Monday.
Kicking Game –
UNM had three kickers working on extra points during special team practice. Junior transfer Ben Contreras was handling the snapping while Brad Gruner, Ian Clark and Roland Bruno worked on holding. The kickers included Yousuf Shakir, James Aho and Drew Zamora.