Dec. 9, 2008
Mike Locksley – New Mexico’s 29th Head Football Coach
What They’re Saying About Mike Locksley
Watch Mike Locksley’s Introduction 
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
New Mexico coach Mike Locksley met his family of Lobo football players today and like any strong head of the family, Locksley set down a few family rules for the pack to follow.
But first, gentlemen, take off your hats, Locksley told his players.
“I like that,” said Paul Krebs, UNM’s Vice President for athletics, who hired Locksley as the University of New Mexico’s 29th football coach. Locksley replaces Rocky Long, who resigned in November after 11 years as UNM’s head coach.
Locksley comes to New Mexico after four seasons as the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois. A news conference was set for 3 p.m. today in the Student Union Building, but first Locksley had to have a face-to-face with his new family of Lobos.
“I want you guys to understand who I am,” Locksley told his 2009 Lobos, who gathered in the team meeting room on the second floor of the Tow Diehm building. “I am very passionate about my family. I invest in my family. Now, I’m coming in here to invest in you guys. You guys are now my family.
“You didn’t pick and chose me and I didn’t pick and chose you, but I’m investing in you and you guys are going to believe and invest in me and the staff I bring in. We are going to care for each other, love each other, respect each other.”
Locksley told his new team that there were three areas he expects all Lobos to excel in: academics, athletics and society. He also said he considered it part of his job to make sure that three-pronged excellence was met. “That’s my job. It’s your job to allow us coaches to do that,” he said. “I’m going to find a way to get more out of you.”
Locksley has a reputation of getting a lot out of his athletes and being the personable type of recruiter, who can attract quality athletes. He did it as an assistant at Florida, at Maryland, at Illinois.
“Locks is the whole package,” said Ron Zook, the Illinois head coach. “He can coach, he can recruit, and he can motivate his players. He did a tremendous job with our offense here and will be missed.”
Said Lamont Jordan, former Maryland and current Oakland Raiders running back: “As a player if you trust him, if you do what he says and buy into his program you are going to be very successful. I have the utmost respect and love for Coach Locksley and his family, and words can’t describe how much he means to me.”
The family thing between Locksley and his Lobos is in the early stages. A few rules and expectations were thrown down and the new Lobos coach told his players that his door was always open. Now, the family has to go through the bonding process that probably won’t be complete until the pads and helmets are put on.
“You could sense his energy,” said Bryant Williams, a UNM receiver. “I like what he said about the offense.”
Locksley, who also was the quarterback coach at Illinois for the past three seasons, gave his Lobos a glimpse of what they could expect on the field.
“We are going to be a high-powered, up-tempo, no-huddle, fast-break, fast-paced offense,” he said. “We’re not just a spread ’em out and throw it around offense. It’s going to be a balanced offense and by that I don’t mean 50 percent pass and 50 percent run.”If they (a defense) load the box and we have to throw it 60 times, we’ll do it. If they are going to play coverage and drop off, we’ll run the ball. We are a playmaker-friendly offense. We are going to move the ball up and down the field.”
Locksley takes over a UNM team known for it’s aggressive defense. Locksley said there won’t be any changes in that basic philosophy.
“We’re going to be a pressure-style defense,” he said. “I don’t believe in bend, don’t break. There is nothing about me that’s not aggressive. Everything about me is attacking. We are going to stop the run and stop big plays. We’ll out hit people and get population to the ball.”
Locksley takes over a UNM team that went 4-8 in Long’s last season, but played in five bowl games over the past seven seasons. UNM won the 2007 New Mexico Bowl. The foundation left by Long shows good balance from the senior class down to the incoming freshman class. Locksley’s influence on recruiting this year is minimal, but he told his Lobos he didn’t look at this as a rebuilding process.
“I don’t look at this as a rebuilding job,” he said. “I think the job that coach Long and his staff has done is one of the reasons I was attracted to the job. I know that you guys are a tough, hard-nosed group of guys. To me, I look at this as a renovation job. I’m going to come in and put my touch on my house, on my family, but I don’t have time to rebuild. I have an undeniable will and determination to be successful.”
When Krebs first talked about hiring Long’s replacement, Krebs emphasized a strong interest in an offensive mind to bring a bit more of that aspect of football to University Stadium. Locksley’s credentials suggest good things on that side of the football for UNM.
At Illinois, he turned the Illini into one of the nation’s top offenses. Illinois led the Big Ten in rushing in 2006 and 2007, and passing in 2008. The team ranked second in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in total offense in 2008, averaging 439.4 yards per game. The Illini topped 5,000 yards of total offense for the second straight season in 2008. A Lobos’ offense hasn’t topped 5,000 yards since the 2003 season and has only turned that trick twice since 1986.
Locksley also has been praised as one of the top recruiters in the country. He was listed among the top-20 recruiters in the nation by Sports Illustrated and was named a top-25 recruiter by Rivals.com while at Illinois. In 2003, he helped Florida assemble the seventh-best recruiting class in the country according to Rivals.com.
“He can empower a team and that’s why people like to play for him,” said Chris Leak, a former QB at Florida.
Said Kirt Herbstreit, an ESPN/ABC broadcaster: “Coach Locksley built his reputation on his ability to recruit as well as anybody in the country. But the time spent with both Ralph Friedgen at Maryland and Ron Zook at Illinois has allowed him to grow from a young aggressive assistant to being recognized as one of the greatoffensive minds in the game.”
At UNM, Locksley will enter his 18th season of collegiate coaching. That includes two seasons (2003-04) at the University of Florida as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator under current Illinois head coach Ron Zook. He also saw six seasons (1997-2002) in the same role at the University of Maryland.
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner