New Mexico Lobos at UTSA Roadrunners — 1:30 p.m., Saturday — Alamodome
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GoLobos.com: Game Story, Complete Stats
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Lobo Coach Bob Davie has likened freshman quarterback Lamar Jordan to a point guard in hoops. Jordan hasn’t played basketball in a while, but the Lobo rookie agrees with that comparison.
Bob DeBesse, Davie’s offensive coordinator, can go one further. He likens Jordan to a girl with a curl. Jordan has no curls. Let’s explain.
DeBesse’s reference is to a well-known Longfellow poem about a girl with a curl who could be both good and bad. Jordan has seen a bit of both on the football field coming in to relieve Cole Gautsche or Clayton Mitchem.
“He is kind of like the little girl with the curl,” said DeBesse. “When is he good, he is really, really good.” DeBesse also points out that Jordan has made a few mistakes.
The good thing about Jordan is that he’s getting better. There is more good and less bad. That comes with playing time. Jordan has been involved in 50 offensive plays where yardage was attributed to him. He has 101 yards rushing and 243 yards passing. He has carried the ball 29 times and has thrown the ball 21 times.
He also has taken a whole lot of snaps where other Lobos got credit for the yardage.
“I see myself like a point guard on a basketball team,” said Jordan. “I like to pass (share) the ball. I’m not really a scorer-type person. I like to have other people take the shine. I just want to give (the ball) to my playmakers.”
The Lobos’ plan in 2014 was to have Cole Gautsche leading the offense and that is still the hope. But Gautsche has been sidelined with a hamstring injury and Jordan has been called into battle. And in UNM’s pistol offense that leans heavily on the option, the quarterback has to be a playmaker.
There is a chance Gautsche might get the start Saturday vs. the UTSA Roadrunners, but there is a better chance that Jordan will see the field at some point. Jordan feels a key element in his growth is simply making better decisions on the option and not trying to put too much responsibility for yardage on his young shoulders.
“There are a lot of things where people might have say I made some mental mistakes,” said Jordan. “Trying to do too much, thinking too much. I think I’m really thinking too much. I need to shut it down, calm down and just trust my teammates (to make plays).
“As a freshman, you have some big shoes to fill especially playing behind Cole and Clayton. They are great quarterbacks. I just need to bear down, calm down in the games and just rely on them to keep me focused.”
Sure, Gautsche and Mitchem can help Jordan – on the sidelines. But the decisions you make three-by-three on the sidelines are answered one-by-one on the field.
Jordan made some big plays against Fresno State. He had a 26-yard scoring run that handed UNM a 17-7 lead and showed off some of Jordan’s open-field skills. He made a nice read on the option pitching the ball to Jhurell Pressley that resulted in an 18-yard TD.
Jordan is smart, too. He knows where to throw the credit: “The O-line played a heck of a game,” he said. “That’s the reason we are making plays.”
Davie recruited Jordon out of Centennial High in Frisco, Texas because Davie liked the dual-threat aspect of the 6-foot hurler. In two seasons with the Titans, Jordan had 5,119 yards passing and added another 1,497 on the ground. He ran or threw for 74 touchdowns.
“He operates,” said Davie. “He did that in high school, same thing, and that’s what caught our attention.”
The learning curve for Jordan obviously will be impacted by how much time he sees on the field. The option out of the pistol can look instinctual in some quarterbacks’ hands, but those quick decisions are the product of repetition. The best repetition comes in games. It’s the school of hard knocks.
Jordan also said he gets a lot of help from an outstanding option quarterback – Gautsche.
“Cole helps me every play, every drive,” said Jordan. “He is telling me what’s open, what’s not open, what the safeties are doing, what the corners are doing. It’s really helping a lot.
“I wouldn’t say I made an impact (on the team). I would say they (teammates) impacted me. They trusted in me to go out there and play with them. They build me up. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and they are like, “Come on, Lamar. You’re good. Just keep it up.’
“And that’s what is keeping me going.”