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![]() Freddy Young
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Time to start meeting some of our newest Lobos, while watching veterans prepare for the 2008 season! | |||
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The newly renovated practice fields at the UNM Football complex sprung to life for the first time on Monday as the 2008 New Mexico Lobos began their preparation for the upcoming season in earnest. The first day of training camp always raises a few intriguing questions: How do the newcomers from the high school and junior college ranks look? Which, if any, may be able to contribute on the field for the Lobos this season? As the team broke into individual position drills and later one-on-one passing practice I was able to get a look at one of the positions under the microscope this August – the UNM receiving corps.
Lobo Wide Receivers Coach
Matt Wells began individual drills by stressing the importance of the
stance at the line of scrimmage. On
this first day of camp without the benefit of pads Wells and the other
UNM coaches focused on fundamentals, the stance being chief among them
for the receivers. Wells stressed the
importance
of eliminating wasted motion and getting from the stance down the field
with as little effort as possible. Soph.
Chris Hernandez of Las
Cruces
Mayfield High drew praise as the Lobo with the most unique stance and
most effortless transition to full speed among all the UNM receivers. ![]() #84 Ty Kirk Later the receivers began work
on route running with live passes being thrown their way.
It was here that one could begin to get an impression of the
skills possessed by the Lobo newcomers as well as the veteran WR's. Immediately impressive was the size of true freshman Carmeiris
Stewart of Apopka, FL. Stewart towered over the rest of the receiving
corps and has a similar build to junior Daryl Jones. Another
true freshman, Ty Kirk from Arlington Heights, IL
looked to possess some serious quickness and athleticism as he exploded
from his stance and was able to quickly cut up field after securing the
catch. Also worthy of note was Andre
McQueen, the freshman from Pinkston HS in Dallas. It
seems that the Lobos will have two fleet footed WR's named McQueen in
the program this season (Sr. Jermaine McQueen being the first).
Few
mistakes were made by the veteran Lobo receivers as Hernandez, Jermaine
McQueen, Roland Bruno, and JUCO transfer Bryant Williams all turned in
solid, spirited performances. Williams,
who
participated in spring drills with the Lobos, is among the most sure
handed of the Lobo receivers and runs very sharp routes.
Jermaine
McQueen continued to display solid hands to complement his speed and
Bruno looked like the leader of the unit now that standouts Marcus Smith and Travis Brown have departed for the NFL. #8 Roland Bruno
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The other positions that saw the most action in
Monday's workout were the quarterbacks and defensive backs. The Lobos will not don pads until later this
week making an assessment of the Hitmen and Lobo defensive front 6
difficult in these early practices. Freshman
quarterbacks B.R. Holbrook (Stevenson Ranch, CA) and Jonathan Mader
from Cibola HS in Albuquerque made their debuts in the UNM uniform
Monday. Holbrook looks to possess a fairly
quick
release and Mader seemed to become more comfortable as the practice
wore on under the direction of Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach Dave
Baldwin. However it was obvious to all
that UNM's leader at QB is Donovan Porterie, the Jr. who became the
first Lobo since Stoney Case to pass
for more than 3,000 yards in a season in 2007. Porterie
displayed the leadership
qualities
that were stressed throughout the spring and even elected to take extra
reps during passing drills to make sure he is as prepared as possible
when New Mexico
meets TCU on August 30.
The practice culminated in one-on-one passing drills which consist of a receiver on each side of the field matched up against a defensive back. Standout plays were made by Jr. wolf safety Frankie Soloman throughout this portion of practice as he blanketed receivers and made a great break on hitch route for an interception. Later Sr. Jermaine McQueen showcased his sprinter speed on a deep touchdown catch vs. S Mica Williams. Not to be outdone the younger Andre McQueen made a nice catch on a go route to wrap up this portion of the first workout of training camp.
Offensive Player of the Practice:
QB Donovan Porterie. The Jr. leader of the UNM offense along with Rodney Ferguson had great poise and carried himself as a leader during Monday's first practice. Porterie lead by example and was vocal when needed with his young receiving corps. Coach Dave Baldwin stressed leadership over any other aspect of Porterie's game during spring camp and their hard work seems to have paid dividends. The Jr. from Port Arthur, TX delivered crisp and accurate passes all afternoon as Lobo fans have come to expect.
Defensive Player of the Practice:
505/575 Pride
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