ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dakota Cox, Jhurell Pressley and Ridge Jones were all named the Phil Steele’s All-Mountain Preseason squad, picking up second team honors as a host of preseason teams were released by various publications over the past few days, with Steele’s team being released this morning.
Along with the Phil Steele teams, preseason Mountain West teams were announced by Athlon and The Sporting News as their preseason NCAA football magazines hit the shelves over the weekend, and by collegefootballpreseason.com as well.
Overall, nine Lobos earned mentions, with Cox leading the way. Dakota, who led the nation with 12.9 tackles per game last year on the way to First Team All-Mountain West honors, was selected preseason First Team by CFB Preseason and Second Team by both Phil Steele and Athlon. Dakota led the nation despite playing just nine games due to a torn ACL in the final minutes of the Boise State game last season.
He had seven double-digit tackle games in 2014, including three games of 17 or more. One of those, an 18-tackle game against New Mexico State, garnered him Mountain West Player of the Week honors as he also had a red-zone interception and a pass defended in the final minute. The team’s defensive captain last year despite being just a true sophomore, Cox would have been a surefire preseason Butkus candidate if not for the injury at the end of last season.
Pressley was also honored by the same three teams, picking up Second Team honors from Phil Steele and Athlon and Honorable Mention honors from CFB Preseason. Pressley, who sat the spring semester but is back and enrolled, set a school record with a 9.5 yard per carry average, rushing for 1,083 yards and 12 touchdowns. Save for the Utah State game in which he carried one time due to an injury, he broke the 100 yard mark in each of his last five complete games, and his five rushes of 60 or more yards were more than every single FBS team except for four.
The other Lobo with multiple Second Team honors was Ridge Jones, who earned those from Athlon and Phil Steele as a kick returner. Jones led the Mountain West with a 25.9-yard kickoff return average with a 100-yard touchdown against Boise State last year. That was one of two long TDs against the Broncos that he had, as he also had a 75-yard touchdown run against them (as did Pressley on the opening play). Jones was pressed into service because of an injury to Carlos Wiggins last year, and Wiggins could easily have been honored as well, as his 29.3-yard return average would have led the league if he had appeared in one more game. Wiggins also had a touchdown on a return as UNM has had seven kickoff returns for touchdowns since Bob Davie took over in 2012.
Three other players received accolades from Steele and CFB Preseason: Garrett Adcock and Reno Henderson, who were both Third Team for Phil Steele and Honorable Mention for CFB Preseason, and defensive lineman Nik D’Avanzo, who was Fourth Team Phil Steele and Honorable Mention for CFB Preseason.
Adcock and Henderson anchored the right side of UNM’s line last year, with Henderson starting all 12 games at right guard and Adcock starting the final 10 at right tackle. D’Avanzo was one of the Mountain West’s top tacklers among defensive linemen, and his 4.5 sacks led the team. He also had a team-high tying two fumble recoveries and 7.0 TFLs among his 52 tackles.
Rounding out the honors were three more Honorable Mention picks for CFB Preseason in Eden Mahina , Teriyon Gipson and Cranston Jones. Mahina started all 12 games at left guard, grading out at 99% for the season on assignment. Gipson was second on the team in rushing with 809 yards and eight touchdowns, and his 15 catches out of the backfield were second on the team. Cranston Jones had 27 tackles but a team-best three interceptions, including one for a touchdown against Wyoming. He also knocked away four other passes.
The Lobos open the 2015 season on September 5 against Mississippi Valley State, one of seven home games at Branch Field at University Stadium this season. Season tickets start as low as $96 for the entire seven-game schedule, which includes Rio Grande rival New Mexico State and regional conference foes Air Force and Colorado State.
UNM Faculty and Staff are eligible for a 50% discount on season tickets. UNM Faculty and Staff must be .5 FTE or greater and must be employed as a regular employee. The limit is two tickets or one family plan for eligible UNM Faculty and Staff.
Lobo fans can join the Lobo Club for as a little as $10 per month and can help support student-athlete scholarships. By donating to the Lobo Scholarship Fund, you are subsidizing scholarships for UNM student-athletes as well as making yourself eligible for ticket and parking benefits for football. Go to UNMLoboClub.com for 2015 Lobo football parking information.
Can’t attend Lobo football games but still want to support your Lobos? You can also purchase Send-A-Kid tickets, which is the youth price, for $59 and send underprivileged or at-risk youth to a Lobo football game.
The Lobo Ticket Office at WisePies Arena aka The Pit is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The UNM Bookstore Ticket Office hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday, noon-4 p.m. If you wait to purchase single-game tickets, please mark your calendars as single game tickets go on sale Monday, August 24 in-person at the Lobo Ticket Office in WisePies Arena.