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New Mexico Prospects

by scott715 · 2/13/2010

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scott715
OOC they play Sept. 4 - at Oregon Sept. 11 - vs. Texas Tech Oct. 2 - vs. UTEP Oct. 9 - at New Mexico state

Hopfully they can win more than 1 game this year. I would be happy if they could win 2 f these 4 games.



Here is information on their class: http://www.golobos.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/nm-10-signing-day.html



COMMENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEAD COACH MIKE LOCKSLEY

"Obviously, the goal in recruiting year-in and year-out is to fill your needs. We feel very confident this year that we filled those needs. We felt there was a high premium on offensive linemen and defensive backs. We think we hit home runs on all the guys that we've been able to sign. The overall philosophy of this class was to increase the athleticism of the Lobo football program. When you look at the athletes that are part of this 2010 recruiting class, I feel like we did a great job. Our coaches have done a great job. We went everywhere we had to go to find great players to help us take this program to the next level. The thing people will see when they come out to watch us is how much we have increased the athleticism of our program in two years."



Their big recruit was a QB from FL Tarean Austin 4 star. They will need him as their QB graduated.



Coach Locksley on Tarean Austin:

"Tarean has good size and a natural throwing motion. Out of all the quarterbacks we looked at, he probably had the purest throwing motion. He is a thrower who is athletic. That's the order you prefer. You want a quarterback who is a thrower, who you know can make plays with his arm, but who also has the athleticism to get out of trouble or even run the ball. He is a perfect fit from that standpoint. He has great feet and quarterback moxie."



And Calvin Smith DT 4 stars



Coach Locksley on Calvin Smith:

"Calvin has the ability to come in and play early. He's one of the top recruits in the country. He is strong, explosive, and has star potential. He has great technique and great feet. He really dominated his position in high school and has the skills and the strength to contribute right away for us."
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Iceman
As bad as their record was last year, it would seem that it would take two more recruiting classes to even have a hope of bowl eligibility. But, they were IN so many games last year, all it may take is 5 or 6 more plays and the season is arguably, a success. Could get interesting. This could be the spoiler team in the conference, though I don't really expect them to finish in the top 5.
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bball
But why would anyone want to play at New Mexico? a tiny stadium, little exposure, poor facilities, goes to a bowl game about once every two decades. This is not a program that can attract top talent.
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scott715
Supposely they played a lot of young players last year. This is a team that could show the most improvement because they were so bad last year. Last year was the worst time for them to fall apart. The conference would have gotten more respect and jumped some other conferences.
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mcgregor
It will be interesting to see what Coach Locksley will do with these guys. IMO, he's the weakest link in the conference, but if he can continue to recruit this well and keep his temper in check, he may be able to field a respectable team. Now, UNLV has a clean hold on crappiest MWC team.
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scott715
Learned that they also got a transfer WR from Ohio St but he will have to sit out a year. However he will run the relay on their track team this year. Also they have another transfer that they expect to be a starter but I don't know name or position.
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stgeorgefan
declocoug wrote:
Which means he couldn't hack it in the NFL.


If Byu landed Andy ried or Norm Chow would you think any less of them? Nick Saben is looking pretty good at Bama, guess he couldn't hack it in the NFL and he's no good. ;)

I think UNM will be vastly improved. Locksley is a players coach, I think he will get better with time.
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BroncoBot
stgeorgefan wrote:
Which means he couldn't hack it in the NFL.


If Byu landed Andy ried or Norm Chow would you think any less of them? Nick Saben is looking pretty good at Bama, guess he couldn't hack it in the NFL and he's no good. ;)

I think UNM will be vastly improved. Locksley is a players coach, I think he will get better with time.


I'd love to get some of those guys to come to BYU and I figured someone would use BYU as an argument but you have to remember that people come to BYU for other benefits. Being LDS, coming to BYU from the NFL is very logical (no sunday play, more family time, better work environment, best team in the country to work with etc). But why would this dude want to go to NM of all places if he could make it in the NFL?? Doesn't make sense to me.



As for Nick Saban, his salary is basically the same (probably more with the benefits Alabama gives him under the table), and the ease of getting talent is vastly increased. At the NCAA level, especially coaching for a school like bama, he has a shot at almost any football star out there. He didn'tt have that luxury in the NFL.



I don't know, but I seriously doubt this WR coach is getting as much money as your average WR coach in the NFL. He might be a talented guy who completely turns NM around but until I see results I'm not buying that he'll be a great WR coach simply because his resume contains the letters NFL. Latest example at BYU- Gary Crowton.
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snoscythe
declocoug wrote:
He might be a talented guy who completely turns NM around but until I see results I'm not buying that he'll be a great WR coach simply because his resume contains the letters NFL. Latest example at BYU- Gary Crowton.


Except Gary Crowton has won a national championship as an OC in college football, the same position he had in the NFL.



UNM hired a wide receivers coach from the NFL to coach wide receivers in college. BYU hired an OC from the NFL to run the entire team.



When Gary has done what Gary does best (offensive coordinator) he has been one of the best in the NCAA.
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BroncoBot
snoscythe wrote:
He might be a talented guy who completely turns NM around but until I see results I'm not buying that he'll be a great WR coach simply because his resume contains the letters NFL. Latest example at BYU- Gary Crowton.


Except Gary Crowton has won a national championship as an OC in college football, the same position he had in the NFL.



UNM hired a wide receivers coach from the NFL to coach wide receivers in college. BYU hired an OC from the NFL to run the entire team.



When Gary has done what Gary does best (offensive coordinator) he has been one of the best in the NCAA.


Good point about Crowton being HC no OC, and he does have a NC. Although I felt that Crowton basically ran the offense and Bosco was more of a puppet and eventually a scapegoat. We also have to remember that every year that he is with a team, that team gets consistently less productive offensively for some odd reason. I remember a Ducks offense that did absolutely nothing against my BYU cougars in a LV bowl, and there are a lot of grumblings in Baton Rouge at the moment as well.



Anyway, that's all unimportant to the bigger question. Why did this guy leave the NFL to coach at NM??
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BroncoBot
declocoug wrote:
declocoug wrote:
He might be a talented guy who completely turns NM around but until I see results I'm not buying that he'll be a great WR coach simply because his resume contains the letters NFL. Latest example at BYU- Gary Crowton.


Except Gary Crowton has won a national championship as an OC in college football, the same position he had in the NFL.



UNM hired a wide receivers coach from the NFL to coach wide receivers in college. BYU hired an OC from the NFL to run the entire team.



When Gary has done what Gary does best (offensive coordinator) he has been one of the best in the NCAA.


Good point about Crowton being HC no OC, and he does have a NC. Although I felt that Crowton basically ran the offense and Bosco was more of a puppet and eventually a scapegoat. We also have to remember that every year that he is with a team, that team gets consistently less productive offensively for some odd reason. I remember a Ducks offense that did absolutely nothing against my BYU cougars in a LV bowl, and there are a lot of grumblings in Baton Rouge at the moment as well especially after that LSU vs PSU bowl game.



Anyway, that's all unimportant to the bigger question. Why did this guy leave the NFL to coach at NM??
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snoscythe
declocoug wrote:
declocoug wrote:
He might be a talented guy who completely turns NM around but until I see results I'm not buying that he'll be a great WR coach simply because his resume contains the letters NFL. Latest example at BYU- Gary Crowton.


Except Gary Crowton has won a national championship as an OC in college football, the same position he had in the NFL.



UNM hired a wide receivers coach from the NFL to coach wide receivers in college. BYU hired an OC from the NFL to run the entire team.



When Gary has done what Gary does best (offensive coordinator) he has been one of the best in the NCAA.


Good point about Crowton being HC no OC, and he does have a NC. Although I felt that Crowton basically ran the offense and Bosco was more of a puppet and eventually a scapegoat. We also have to remember that every year that he is with a team, that team gets consistently less productive offensively for some odd reason. I remember a Ducks offense that did absolutely nothing against my BYU cougars in a LV bowl, and there are a lot of grumblings in Baton Rouge at the moment as well.



Anyway, that's all unimportant to the bigger question. Why did this guy leave the NFL to coach at NM??


True. I guess I should clarify that Gary is a great first-year OC.
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Wickchad
declocoug wrote:

As for Nick Saban, his salary is basically the same (probably more with the benefits Alabama gives him under the table)


Why would you assume that Alabama would need to pay him under the table. There are no limits on the amount you pay the coach. There isn't a salary cap like the NFL or NBA where you can't pay someone as much as you want so you find shady ways to compensate them. Does Saban probably get other forms of pay from boosters or sponsors, Yes. Is it under the table, No. Is it illegal, No.



Do we all hate Saban, Yes.
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stgeorgefan
Wickchad84087 wrote:

As for Nick Saban, his salary is basically the same (probably more with the benefits Alabama gives him under the table)


Why would you assume that Alabama would need to pay him under the table. There are no limits on the amount you pay the coach. There isn't a salary cap like the NFL or NBA where you can't pay someone as much as you want so you find shady ways to compensate them. Does Saban probably get other forms of pay from boosters or sponsors, Yes. Is it under the table, No. Is it illegal, No.



Do we all hate Saban, Yes.

The point on Saban I don't believe is about money. These coaches are competiters. Being the coach on ANY NFL team is looked at as better than in college. Lets use Pete Carrol as an example. USC GOT ANYONE they wanted recruiting. He led the best program in the ncaa. The Seahawks are not the cream of the crop either. So why did pete leave? It's the NFL, the chance to be the best and coach the best.

Now I know I just proved your first point to an extent, but here is my overall point I'm trying to make.

- New Mexico got a guy that has coached the best athletes - there are plenty of good coaches on bad teams in the NFL(see the SF 49ers former O coord Jimmy Raye. He coached the "greatest show on turf", won a super bowl!!! Now he can't keep a job in San Fran or detriot???? Does this guy have any talent to coach anymore??? YES he does and I'm sure most of you agree( as would Alex Smith who had his best NFl season last year)

This guy at NM has the talent to coach I have no doubt. The fate of him will be how he uses that talent.
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BroncoBot
stgeorgefan wrote:
declocoug wrote:

As for Nick Saban, his salary is basically the same (probably more with the benefits Alabama gives him under the table)


Why would you assume that Alabama would need to pay him under the table. There are no limits on the amount you pay the coach. There isn't a salary cap like the NFL or NBA where you can't pay someone as much as you want so you find shady ways to compensate them. Does Saban probably get other forms of pay from boosters or sponsors, Yes. Is it under the table, No. Is it illegal, No.



Do we all hate Saban, Yes.

The point on Saban I don't believe is about money. These coaches are competiters. Being the coach on ANY NFL team is looked at as better than in college. Lets use Pete Carrol as an example. USC GOT ANYONE they wanted recruiting. He led the best program in the ncaa. The Seahawks are not the cream of the crop either. So why did pete leave? It's the NFL, the chance to be the best and coach the best.

Now I know I just proved your first point to an extent, but here is my overall point I'm trying to make.

- New Mexico got a guy that has coached the best athletes - there are plenty of good coaches on bad teams in the NFL(see the SF 49ers former O coord Jimmy Raye. He coached the "greatest show on turf", won a super bowl!!! Now he can't keep a job in San Fran or detriot???? Does this guy have any talent to coach anymore??? YES he does and I'm sure most of you agree( as would Alex Smith who had his best NFl season last year)

This guy at NM has the talent to coach I have no doubt. The fate of him will be how he uses that talent.

well said.
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stgeorgefan
If in my first posts I don't succeed, try try again!
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scott715
Spring practice starts: March 23



Spring game: April 17



What to watch:



With Donovan Porterie still waiting to hear about a sixth year, there will be a quarterback competition this spring. Sophomore B.R. Holbrook is the favorite against juniors Tate Smith and Brad Gruner, but the spring winner will have to fend off top recruits Tarean Austin and Stump Godfrey in the fall.

Running back Terence Brown, who was the penciled in starter last season before tearing his ACL in the spring, will once again be the favorite to win the top rushing spot for the Lobos. While two freshmen and a sophomore manned the position last year, the Lobos ranked 110th in rushing.

In making the running game better, the Lobos have to get better on the offensive line. They lose three starters, including center Erik Cook. There are a few young players waiting in the wings, and the Lobos added three more in this recruiting class.
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scott715
Hialeah High (Florida) four-star defensive tackle Calvin Smith made one of the most shocking recruiting announcements of the day by declaring that he’ll play his college football at New Mexico.



Smith was committed to Tennessee before Lane Kiffin left for USC. He also was considering Florida State and Alabama.



“I’ve got a good relationship with the head coach,” Smith told ESPNU. “He’s been recruiting me for two years and I feel like I can play under the top-rated defensive line coach in the country, coach Rubin Carter.”



Smith immediately becomes the best player on a New Mexico team that went 1-11 last year and was embroiled in off-field scandal for much of the year with first-year head coach Mike Locksley.



The Lobos are 5-19 the past two seasons.



Smith said Locksley told him that he could compete for playing time right away and had a chance to become a Freshman All-American for the Lobos.



When asked about the scrutiny he might face about his decision to play for a rebuilding program such New Mexico, Smith said he didn’t care what other people thought.



“I just go where my heart tells me to go,” Smith said. “I’m not listening to what people say. I go where I feel comfortable at.”
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