New York, N.Y. — Jhurell Pressley had a season for the ages in 2014 with 1,083 yards on just 114 carries, making him one of the nation’s most explosive players. Now, he’s getting recognition for that as NFL.com’s Mike Huguenin has listed Pressley as No. 7 Most Explosive Player. The list is a part of NFL.com’s 15 for ’15 photo essay series.
It’s the third time a Lobo player has been named to a 15 for ’15 list. Garrett Adcock was named No. 5 on the list of the nation’s smartest players, and Carlos Wiggins was No. 11 on the list of the nation’s best smallest players.
Pressley was a lot of things in 2014, and explosive might be the best adjective to encompass all of what he brought to the table. He led the nation with a 9.5 yards per carry average, meaning he basically got a first down every time he touched the ball. He had 12 touchdowns in 11 games, and he had five rushed of 60 or more yards on the season, which was as many or more than every team in the FBS except for four (Wisconsin, Marshall, Georgia Southern and Indiana. Depsite suffering a pretty severe injury against Boise State, he rushed for 100 yards against both Colorado State and Wyoming, despite limping his way to the century mark.
He even blitzed Boise State’s vaunted defense for a 75-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the game, going for 154 yards in the first half on seven carries before suffering an injury.
The honor is one of a slew for Pressley in the preseason, as he was named a 2015 preseason second team all-conference selection by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports and an honorable mention all-conference selection by collegefootballpreseason.com.
UNM opens the 2015 season with Mississippi Valley State on September 5. That game is one of seven on the home schedule for UNM, including New Mexico State on October 3 and a Homecoming tilt with Hawai’i on October 17.