JUCO's Making A Difference

Rocky's staff did a nice job of recruiting JUCO's this year. Let's take a quick look at them.

The University of New Mexico lost twenty-seven players last year due to graduation and the end of their eligibility.  Of those twenty-seven, fourteen of them were starters (info taken out of the Lobo Media Guide.) leaving the Lobos with a few holes.  There were openings up and down the roster.  The Lobos did have young men coming up that were ready to step in and fill those gaps, but they also went out and recruited some pretty good Junior College guys to fill in some spots as well, and boy have they. 

Watching practices last spring and this training camp it is evident that the coaching staff has done excellent work on the recruiting front when it comes to the young men they have picked up as many of the JUCO’s are now competing or have won starting jobs or significant playing time for the upcoming season.

#64 Bo Greer

The big man from Garden City Community College wasn’t with UNM during spring ball this year so he had to come out of training camp and learn what is expected of him early if he was going to make an impact this year, and lo and behold, he has done just that.  Bo can be seen dominating on the offensive line during practice everyday.  He is a very large and athletic man 6-3 318lbs that can move or stop an oncoming rusher in his tracks. The great news is he didn’t come in with a JUCO gut, or so out of shape he couldn’t participate. Physically he was ready, Bo did have to spend time learning the X’s and O’s of the Lobo system, checks, and calls and he has succeeded to the point that he more then likely will be starting Sept. 3^rd when Washington State comes to town.

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#87 Anthony Carter

AC is yet another impact JUCO player that has made an impact this training camp.  UNM is blessed with large wide-outs this year that average around 6-3 215 lb range. They are big and can put a safety or corner on the ground quickly.  Then rolls in the small receiver at 6-0 180, that is fast and has a knack at catching the ball.  AC showed up this training camp and also missed spring camp, but he is quickly learning what is expected of him as a starting wide receiver and is battling hard with Chris Brawley and Marcus Smith for the second or third receiver starting spot. (UNM uses both 2 and 3 WR sets to start.) My first thoughts of AC when I saw him practicing is this guy can stretch out a defense, now before you think of him as some frail little wide receiver that can only run, AC can also lay down a block or open the way for a running back to get around the corner.  UNM has a star in the making with this young man.

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#91 Quincy Black

Who would have thought that another linebacker could come into the fold and get into a position where could play on a regular basis.  After spring the Lobos seemed pretty set and deep in the linebacker position so it was kind of a surprise when Quincy transferred in from William Rainey Harper JC after spring practice.  Quincy signed late for UNM and since being here has done nothing but make himself a nuisance to the offense.  Quincy is buff and has nice speed and strength, what makes “Q” even better is he seems to be always in the play.  He may not make them all, but he is in there.  “Q” more then likely won’t start this year but look for the 6’3” 235 pound man to be in the linebacker rotation and making plays.

 

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It’s kind of funny, but since these young men were here during spring football I don’t really think of them as JUCO newcomers to the University of New Mexico.  We’ve already covered what these young men could do.  Still, they are newcomers never playing an official down for UNM and these young men will garner significant playing time this year if not start.

 

 

 

#82 TE Logan Hall

The Snow College TE came in last spring and was a house on fire, having coaches and fans anticipating a huge year from the 6-5 257 pound tight end. He came in with a little of a JUCO gut and was semi out of shape.  Luckily for the Lobos he came during the spring so a summer of Coach Paulson’s work out regimes really got him in shape.  Unfortunately for Logan fall hasn’t been as easy as spring was as he is suffering through a nagging knuckle injury on his pinky finger that forces him to wear a cast. Logan has been working hard all training camp trying different casts to protect his finger and can be seen trying to work through it everyday. Through all the adversity with the injury Logan still be seen making catches, blocking well, and is one of UNM’s starting tight ends who will be a dependable weapon for Kole Mc Kamey.

 

#6 Chris Brawley

 At 6-3 220 lbs Chris is another of UNM’s big wide receivers that can block well.  During spring while getting acclimated to the D-I game it seemed that Chris wasn’t a sure handed type receiver as he would drop a lot of passes thrown his way.  At the time I questioned if it was just his getting used to D-I or just not being used to being throw to by our quarterbacks.  Well I’m happy to say that work Chris put in during the summer is paying off. During training camp Chris has been making the tough catches he had been dropping during the spring, and with his size the majority of balls thrown to Chris are underneath patterns which usually bring a pop from the opposing safeties, so they are all tough catches.  Brawley along with Anthony Carter and Marcus Smith are the candidates for the 2^nd and 3^rd WR spots.

 

#94 Adam Garday

Adam steps into a pressure situation immediately on the defensive line.  UNM was the hardest hit on the defensive line when it comes to players ending their college eligibility. So the first unit position was wide open during the spring.  In comes the 6-2 253 pound DE from Scottsdale CC to fill the void.  Adam is a quick DE that is finding the way to the quarterback and forcing the running backs into his defensive mates. The work he has put in during the spring and this fall has more then likely earned him the starting spot and I’m sure that Adam is up to the task.

 

#7 Charles Brown

 

The safety position is also one that is loaded with new talent.  Charles Brown is one of those talented safeties that will start the season behind Sr. Josh Bazinet. The coaches will be counting on Charles this season.

 

 

Other JUCO players that came in this fall include

 

#52  LB Yimin Baumen

 Yimin could be a solid contributor as he grows more comfortable in Rocky Long’s system. The physical talent is definitely there as he had a strong spring based solely on talent.  As he gets more acclimated to what is expected of him, he will also earn more playing time

 

#15 Ken West

Ken is a quick safety that has looked very good rushing the passer and taking on an offensive lineman.  He is still learning the Lobos’ defense, but is a very talented football player.  I do know he has a red shirt available. Will be interesting to see if he uses it.

 

#98 Siosifa Vave

“Sifa” started out this fall as an offensive lineman who then switched to defensive line.  Unfortunately, he didn’t come into camp in the best of shape and has had to work most of training camp into getting into shape.  I’m not sure what the plans are for Vave right now, he could definitely be used as a NT freeing up Marcus Parker back to end or backing him up, or they could choose to red shirt him and let him have a year with Coach Paulson…

 

 

Rocky Long has built a nice program where 4 and 5 year guys fill most starting and back up positions, but as we can see a good JUCO player can step in immediately and with enough hard work that player can work himself into a starting position.