Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, April 4: 8:30 am – 11 am
Saturday, April 6: 10:45 am – 1 pm
Tuesday, April 9: 8:30 am – 11 pmALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As part of the 2019 spring camp, GoLobos.com will do a position-by-position breakdown of the various positions on offense, defense and special teams. Today’s breakdown is on the corners position.
Letterwinners returning:
De’John Rogers (Paramus, N.J., 26 tackles, 1 INT for 28 yards, 2 PBUs)
Blair Manly (Albuquerque, N.M., 3 tackles)
Willie Hobdy (Garland, Texas, 10 tackles, 2 FF)
Corey Hightower (Huntsville, Texas)
Redshirts/Squad members returning:
Donte Martin (Oxnard, Calif.)
Nic Wilson (San Bernardino, Calif.)
Letterwinners lost:
D’Angelo Ross (La Puente, Calif., 57 tackles, 2.0 TFLs for 8 yards, 1 INT for 17 yards, 6 PBUs, 1 FF)
Jalin Burrell (Riverside, Calif., 52 tackles, 1 INT for 0 yards, 6 PBUs, 2 FR for 0 yards & 1 TD)
2019 Signing Class in camp:
Eric Cuffee (Waco, Texas)
2019 Signing Class not yet enrolled:
Antonio Hunt (Lancaster, Calif.)
What does the number 1,693 have to do with Lobo Football? That’s the number of combined snaps played by last year’s starters Jalin Burrell (863) and D’Angelo Ross (830). Considering UNM’s opponents last year ran 899 plays, that represents 94.2% of all the snaps at corner last season. That makes the 2019 spring practice season a key one for corners coach Perry Eliano, and his crew as he looks to find the combination of guys that will fill in the gaps left by Ross and Burrell.
Over the last two seasons, Ross and Burrell recorded two interceptions and 33 pass break ups, and they were constants in the lineup. However, with both looking to ply their trade in the NFL next season, it’s opened a lot of snaps for a talented group of corners just itching to have their names Sharpied into the lineup. For Eliano and Bob Davie, there’s a lot to like.
The one player on the current roster that saw a solid chuck of action at corner (and also nickel corner) was De’John Rogers. The upcoming senior from Paramus, Rogers proved to be a playmaker on defense, and his interception against New Mexico State sparked the UNM comeback in that game.
Rogers saw action in 203 coverage snaps, and he certainly passed all the advanced metrics. Rogers allowed just two touchdowns passing on the season, and defensive success rate was 53.8%, just a tick above the national FBS average of 53.7% (that rate is a team rate of the percentage of times the defense is successful when the player is targeted).
No days off! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/78hrUogl4k
— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) April 2, 2019
Rogers also allowed a first down on just 33% of all targets, which was second best among all UNM corners that saw at least one snap, and it was well below the national average of 47.0%. Better yet, Rogers was credited with two pass breakups and one interception, but according to Pro Football Focus, he was responsible for an incompletion or loss of yardage 18 other times, due to his tight coverage forcing throwaways or sacks. It’s that type of coverage and senior leadership that Rogers has in his back pocket as the veteran among UNM’s corners that are in camp.
After Rogers, there are plenty of options, but not a ton of experience at the position on the field. Willie Hobdy, who has played both corner and safety in his career, led the nation at one point last year in forced fumbles. Both Blair Manly and Corey Hightower have seven years combined in the program and are looking to breakthrough into the lineup. Manly is one of seven players entering his fifth year in the program, and Hightower is looking to make his break into the lineup as well, and the high school teammate of Jay Griffin IV, much like Manly, has already shown plenty of good things in camp.
Also joining the cornerback brigade are a couple of redshirts in Donte Martin and Nic Wilson. Martin, who took advantage of the “4-game redshirt rule” last season, does have some experience on the field for the Lobos, although it was mostly on special teams. Wilson didn’t see action last year, but both players made a name for themselves on the scout squad, and the coaching staff will be looking for that effort to translate over into the rotation.
The Lobos did add depth at corner with three in the 2019 signing class, with Eric Cuffee in camp in the spring, and Antonio Hunt signed but not enrolled yet. All three are junior college transfers, bringing experience into the corners room and balancing out the classes.
Certainly with 94.2% of the snaps open for 2019, there’s an air of the unknown when it comes to the corner situation for upcoming season. However, the unknown brings forth a battle for playing time, and that unknown has already shown itself with fierce competition during the first three days of spring camp, and it should bode for excitement throughout the spring and into the fall on the way to the opener on August 31.
NEXT UP: Thursday, April 4, receivers.
PRACTICE NOTES: Teton Saltes was excused from practice, as he is in Washington, D.C. meeting with government officials as one of 200 advocates on behalf of kids for Save The Children Advocacy Day for the Save The Children Action Network.