So the 2009 Spring Football session is in the
books! Coach
Mike Locksley has come to the University of New Mexico and has made
some huge
changes. The first change was what a beautiful April New Mexico
afternoon! This
is the 9th year we have attended spring ball and I must say
this one
had to be one of the best weather of all time.
The
highly anticipated Lobo offense didn’t come out exactly
setting the world on fire as the Cherry defense led by DT Ahraya
Crespin, DE
Seth Johannemann, and LB Joe Stoner came to play! Crespin set the tone
early,
as he owned the interior of the trenches with a pair of tackles and a
sack!
Crespin, who is making the transition to the tackle position, shows
excellent
promise. When Crespin wasn’t doing damage from the tackle position
Johannemann
was coming in from the end position making his presence felt as well!
Tate escapes!
Don’t
think this was your typical Cherry Silver defense
dominated games as the Lobo offenses started getting things going on
the legs
of James Wright. Who spent the last week a little banged up with an
nagging
ankle injury stepped up and went around the end for a touchdown,
unfortunately,
the extra point was missed as it hit the crooked uprights!
For
the Cherry side things didn’t really get moving until
Senior QB Donovan Porterie stepped in behind center and quickly led the
Cherry
team on a 13 play drive on the legs of AJ Butler yards and solid
passing. A lot
has been made about the quarterbacks this fall as the Lobos have had 6
QB’s up
until this week when Victor James made the move to WR and today the
Lobo public
was able to see all the QB’s on display. When it was time to play… DP
showed up
and in my opinion put the stranglehold on the starting job today as his
first
TD pass went to Michael Scarlett.
Did I
mention that this was DP’s first TD pass? As he
finished the afternoon with 3 TD tosses as he also hit senior 2009 Red
Menace
Spring Offensive MVP Roland Bruno for another touchdown as Roland
danced on the
sideline, stretched out, and somersaulted in for the 6! Porterie
completed his
touchdown trifecta when he hooked up with RS-FR Tight End Lucas Reed!
DP
to Bruno
UNM
also has some other QB’s that can toss the rock and for
my money the best pure thrower is BR Holbrook. The guy has a sweet
touch on the
ball, and has a nice tight spiral. BR showed today that he can get in
the end
zone using his feet and he took off on an option keep and was upended
as he
scored a TD!
All
kinds of QB’s! How about Tate Smith who was also
impressive today in his scrambling ability. He always tries to find
that open
receiver… He is always looking, and today he found Quintell Solomon for
a
touchdown pass! He followed that up with a nice shot to slot WR Bryant Williams
for a 2-point conversion.
Speaking
of those slot guys. Have they not had the biggest impact
this spring? Bruno and Williams have been spectacular coming out of the
slot,
as has Mr. 505 Nick Wilhelm who might just have owned that category all
spring
long. Big props goes out to the guys in the slot who have made some
excellent
plays this year.
Brad
Gruner had a slow start and just as he started to get
things rolling he took a shot that scrambled the gray matter as he held
onto an
option play.
Emmanuel Yeager came out and displayed that while he is a
raw talent, he is definitely a talented player and with more hard work
with
Coach Martin and the other QB’s don’t write this guy off as his running
is
fluid…
AJ
Butler
The running back situation was thin to start with
today as
Terence Brown was on crutches with a knee injury so that left AJ Butler
and
James Wright carrying the pigskin. Midway through the 2nd
quarter
Wright left the game as it looked like he re aggravated the ankle
injury (he
later came back to play) leaving the Lobos with one RB in AJ Butler who
made
the most of his time out there 19 carries 116.
On
the defensive side of the ball I thought the defensive
ends and linebackers were masterful today. I thought Jaymar Latchison
had a
great spring game and has had a solid spring this year. Johnathan Rainey on the
other end of the line also showed that he is ready to step up and play
big this
year. Remember TRM projected started DeAndre Davis has been out most of
spring
with an arm injury. The move by Johannemann has been excellent for him,
as he
has displayed big play ability from the end as well.
Big Seth!
On
the linebacker side… Carmen Messina and Trey Hardaway
have are really solidifying that LB crew with guys like Joe Stoner and
Spencer Merritt coming along quite nicely.
Safety
wise I think Frankie Solomon was consistent all
spring long… Consistently good that is! The two players that were the
biggest
movers and shakers at the safety position as of late are Frankie Baca
and Bubba Forrest! Both are making plays with Forrest really settling in as a top
Lobo
safety!
How
about Drew Zamora knocking in the game winning field
goal? I hate to say it but you always remember the misses as James Aho
missed a
couple of field goals today in a very uncharacteristic way. However,
did anyone
else other then us nuts in the Red Menace Zone noticed that field goal
post was
crooked?
Click
here as Coach Dickey talks about Lobo football
Anyway,
the 2009 Spring Football session came to a close and
I would have to say Coach Mike Locksley has done nothing but impress as
he and
his staff have really molded their units into something worth going to
watch
this season. I hope you all join us in The Red Menace Zone and if not
at least
consider donating money so we can get our local YAFL kids out to a ball
game
every week! Last year we were able to invite 3 full teams. I’m hoping
for more
this year. Please think about donating and getting fans to the games!
Offensive Player of Practice
#15
Donovan Porterie
You
are kidding if you think anyone else won this award
today. DP was solid in all categories except for one ill-advised pass
that was
picked off. However, when you throw for 125 yards and 3 TD’s you
deserve being
named player of practice.
Click here to listen to
interview with DP
Defensive
Player of Practice
#94
Ahraya Crespin
Ahraya goes full speed every play and the move to DT has
benefited him, he is getting ready to add more weight and just get
better at
his position. How scary is that for the opposition after watching
Ahraya today?
Click here to listen to
interview with Ahraya
505
Pride
#26
Frankie Baca (La Cueva HS, Albuquerque)
Frankie
had the lone interception of the day plus 5 tackles.
Not a bad day for the senior who just keeps making a nuisance of
himself to all
opposing offenses…
So
this closes out spring practice and like Donovan Porterie
said in our interview.
Now
comes the hard work for these guys!