Feb. 4, 2009
2009 Lobo Football Signing Day Central
Locksley Announces 19 Members of 2009 Signing Class
Lobo Football
Today: Lobo signing day updates on Lobo Signing Day Central.
Thursday: UNM coach Mike Locksley will be at Lobo Talk (770-AM) at Kelly’s Brew Pub in Nob Hill from 7-8 p.m.
“You have not seen anything yet in how we will recruit. This was the condensed, fast version,” Mike Locksley, UNM’s first-year head coach.
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The list of Mike Locksley Lobos is impressive. You have size. You have explosiveness. You got tough guys and skilled guys and playmakers and giants. You have difference-makers coveted by programs across the country.
But they are coming to New Mexico to be Lobos, to play for Locksley and his dynamic and diverse staff.
“The one thing I want to express is that we met our needs,” said Locksley. “What we needed to do right away was increase our team speed at receiver and running back and find some linemen.
“We had to go find some playmakers. The offensive guys we have signed are all explosive-type athletes, who are big-play, game-changing type players. Our offense needs playmakers and we found some. We also needed some big guys who are athletic and we found them. We made some steals.”
Maybe the most impressive thing about Locksley’s first recruiting class is that it was, as he puts it, “the condensed, fast version.” Locksley took over the hot seat in the Tow Diehm Complex on Dec. 9, 2008 and as he was throwing together his impressive pack of Lobo coaches, he also was formulating a strategy to bring in his new Lobos. It was a busy time for the first-year head coach.
His recruiting strategy began with a No. 1 and a No. 2. “We wanted to, number one, recruit to our needs and, number two, recruit people we knew about,” said Locksley. “It’s a mistake to bring in guys you know nothing about because there is too great a chance those guys won’t be around long.
“You can’t afford to go out and make hasty, uninformed decisions. The guys we have coming in represent our staff and they are players coming from a coach, a program, an area we have great knowledge of.”
Locksley also said a few of the players came from a former local coach and program that Locksley respects: Rocky Long and UNM. “We had some names that Coach Long and his staff were gracious enough to give us and we finished with some of those kids,” said Locksley.
Still, it was necessary for Locksley to allow his 2009 coaching staff to touch bases in their old, stomping grounds. The 2009 recruiting class comes from such exotic ports as Georgia, Louisiana, Chicago, Maryland and Mississippi. Locksley also admits that his future recruiting classes at UNM might shift geographically.
“This class is coming from a lot of areas that we might not go to as much next year,” he said. “This class doesn’t represent the geographic area we eventually will center on, but these are all kids we wanted.
“We’ll definitely recruit Texas and New Mexico more. We’ll still use some of these areas as secondary sources, but we know the core group of our recruiting classes will come from the Mountain West areas.”
Of course, before Locksley and his staff centered on certain individuals this recruiting season, they had to determine what holes needed to be filled immediately and what holes would pop up in the future.
“Some things just jump out at you.,” he said. “There are numbers you want in each position for your team to functionally go on each season.
“One thing that jumped out is we have 12 scholarship offensive linemen going into this season and four of the 12 are seniors. I’m used to having 18 scholarship offensive linemen, so that told me we needed to sign at least five this year and probably another five next year.
“You want the numbers to balance out. I think we signed every need.”
Locksley said after a player is identified as a possible future Lobo, that player goes through an evaluation process. The Locksley process has little to do with what the national scouting services say about a kid and has a lot to do with what Locksley and his assistants have to say about a kid.
“In our process, we have at least three coaches evaluate a player on a numerical system,” said Locksley. “If he gets the numbers and fits the need we have, if we’re happy with his character, then we’re going to offer the kid.:”
Character counts with Locksley. He rates it right up there with athletic ability, size, speed, skills, etc. He also knows his 2009 Lobos already are loaded with character and all that other good stuff that make up a winning football player and a winning team.
“Part of what made this job so attractive was the Lobos we have coming back,” he said. “We have a core group of tough-minded, hard-nosed, disciplined players who are hungry to win and that’s a testament to Coach (Rocky) Long and his staff. We have a solid group of guys who have character and that’s also something that you win with.”
Camping Out: OK, since Locksley has a reputation as being a straight shooter, the Lobo head man is willing to admit that there might be at least one bug in his recruiting system: Mother Nature. The fickle finger of Ma’ Nature put a kink into Locksley’s system as he was on his way to visit a New Mexico recruit in Artesia. The UNM coach was in the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport when an ice storm hit the area forcing planes to remain on the ground. Locksley, too.
“I slept on a cot on the C concourse,” said Locksley. “They shut everything down. I was stuck there all night.” Turns out Locksley could have had a sleep-over guest, a Lobo slumber party. Separate cots.
“I woke up the next morning and found out that coach Mallory (defensive coordinator Doug Mallory) was bunked down on concourse B. We had been planning to hook up in Albuquerque and go to Baton Rouge together to look at a kid. We just left together from Dallas and went to Baton Rouge.”
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