Loading

Spring Practice No. 4 Breakdown: WRs

Jay Griffin IVJay Griffin IV

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 6 – 10:45-1 pm (Dreamstyle Stadium)
Tuesday, April 9 – 8:45-11 am (South Practice Fields)
Thursday, April 11 – 8:45-11 am (South Practice Fields)
Saturday, April 13 – 10:45-1 pm (Dreamstyle Stadium)

ALBUQUERQUE, 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 receivers position.
 
Letterwinners returning:
EIijah Lilly (San Bernardino, Calif., 21 rec, 375 yards, 5 TDs, long of 74)
Anselem Umeh (Bellflower, Calif., 16 rec, 316 yards, 2 TDs, long of 56)
Thomas Vieira (Albuquerque, N.M., no receptions
Jay Griffin IV (Huntsville, Texas, 21 rec, 168 yards, 0 TDs, long of 34)
Anu Somoye (Houston, Texas, 7 rec, 104 yards, 1 TD, long of 31)
 
Redshirts/Squad members returning:
Cedric Patterson III (Crosby, Texas)
Aaron Molina (Albuquerque, N.M., 4 rec, 64 yards, 0 TDs, long of 33)
Q’ Drennan (El Paso, Texas, 1 rec, 40 yards, 0 TD, long of 40)
Jonah Leyva (Carlsbad, N.M.)
Reece Wilkinson (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Andrew Erickson (Albuquerque, N.M.)
 
Letterwinners lost:
Delane Hart-Johnson (33 rec, 507 yards, 5 TD, long of 44)
Emmanuel Harris (10 rec, 102 yards, 1 TD, long of 33)
Patrick Reed (5 rec, 176 yards, 2 TDs, long of 79)
 
2019 Signing Class in camp:
Jordan Kress (Loveland, Colo.)
Emmanuel Logan-Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
 
2019 Signing Class not yet enrolled:
Tye Moore (Las Vegas, Nev.)
 
There is plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, and perhaps no position showcases that plethora of talent more than the wide receiver position.  It’s a position with five returning letterwinners, six redshirts (three of whom played last year), and three more incoming Lobos, including two highly-touted transfers.  Depth at receiver will not be a problem for Bob Davie and new offensive coordinator Joe Dailey.  In fact, the only issue might be that you can only throw one pass per play.
 
Two of the three starters from 2018 have graduated, including Delane Hart-Johnson, who led the team in receptions (33), yards (507) and touchdowns (tied with five).  That just gives more of a chance to shine for the 14 other receivers in the program, and based on the early spring camp returns, that’s going to happen.
 
Among the five lettermen returning from last year, Elijah Lilly and Jay Griffin IV both possess blazing speed and solid hands.  Lilly tied with Hart-Johnson with five touchdowns, catching 21 passes for 375 yards in his first season as a receiver after spending his first two as a corner.  Griffin tied Lilly with his 21 catches, going for 168 yards. 
 
And about that speed.  Griffin and Lilly both ran track in the winter for the Lobos, and while Lilly had to skip the end of the season with an injury, prior to that both were tearing the Mountain West up, both in the 60 and the 200-meter.  Griffin won the league title in the 200-meter, establishing a Lobo record for speed in the process.

That speed made both ridiculously dangerous during the season.  According to Pro Football Focus, Lilly led the Lobos in average yards after the catch at 14.3 yards, more than double the national average.  Griffin tied for the lead among the receiving corps with eight forced missed tackles and a 36.4% missed tackle rate, also more than twice the national average.  Griffin’s eight forced missed tackles tied with Lilly for the team lead.
 
Thomas Vieira, a slot receiver much like Lilly and Griffin, broke into the receiver lineup, and while he didn’t record a catch in 2018, he has all the skills and has showcased terrific hands in camp.
 

The other two returning lettermen both turned in fantastic 2018 campaigns in Anselem Umeh and Anu Somoye.  Umeh had 16 catches and 316 yards and turned into a big play threat for UNM.  Lobo quarterbacks had a 130.9 rating when targeting Umeh, and that’s the best among the returning letterwinners.  Somoye led all returning receivers in first down/TD catch percentage last year at 38.5%.
 
UNM adds six redshirts to the mix, and they almost need broken up into two groups.  Group one, regular redshirts, and group two, redshirts that have played, and in some cases, played a lot.  Starting there, UNM’s three redshirts who played in 2018 are Q’ Drennan, Aaron Molina and Cedric Patterson III.
 
Drennan played just three snaps last year before suffering an injury on his lone catch, a 40-yarder on the opening drive of the season.  Drennan is in his fifth season with the program and brings over 500 career receiving yards with him.  He is one of the veterans of the receiving room.  Senior Aaron Molina redshirted last year but played four games, catching four passes.  He is one of five New Mexico natives among the receiving corps.  The other redshirt who played last year is Cedric Patterson III, who had no stats but played in three games as UNM was able to utilize the new “four-game redshirt rule” with both Molina and Patterson.  Those three redshirts join Jonah Leyva, Andrew Erickson and Reece Wilkinson.  Leyva, a former quarterback, has shown a natural ability at receiver.  Both Erickson and Wilkinson made a name for themselves in fall camp last year, and continue to play well into the spring.
 
That’s a solid 11-man rotation, but the Lobos have three more receivers from the 2019 NLI class, two of whom are in camp, and both are already turning heads.  Emmanuel Logan-Greene is a transfer from Iowa Central by way of UCF, bringing a breadth of experience, great hands and great speed.  Jordan Kress played with current Lobo teammate Brandt Hughes and has quickly turned into a must-watch at spring camp.  Tye Moore, a quick prep receiver out of Las Vegas, is the other 2019 signee.
 
Watching the receiving corps under WR coach Scott Baumgartner, it’s easy for fans to see the talent and excitement in that group.  The Lobo receivers have plenty of speed, experience, and talent to be a major weapon in 2019.

NEXT UP:  Tuesday, April 9, quarterbacks.
 
PRACTICE NOTES:  Thursday was the first day in full pads … new safety Shaddrick Lowery made a big play during a drill, exciting new defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson so much that he sprinted across the field to join in the celebration … Trent Sellers switched numbers from 84 to 97 after his regular jersey needed repairs … Scott Baumgartner was the second coach this week to be wired up by Lobo TV, joining Perry Eliano on Tuesday, as a part of the Lobo TV weekend Vlog … Saturday’s open practice will be 10:45-1 p.m., and it will be inside Dreamstyle Stadium.