When it comes to the Lobos corners, Coach Barlow
can't
separate the young guys from the veterans, because when he calls the
"young guys" over they all come over.
Coach Barlow has the unenviable task of replacing
a pair of all-MWC and current
NFL corners with a spirited group of sophomores, red shirt, and true
freshmen.
Add in the fact that the two players that actually
have D-I experience are
battling injury and that task becomes even more daunting. "We are
looking
for someone to step up," says Coach Barlow.
Edrick
Bogar
At this point Edrick Bogar and Anthony Hooks seem to have a leg up at
this
point, but with Hooks wearing the blue jersey Freddy Young, DeShawn
Mills, and
Nathan Enriquez are getting some extra looks and playing time. The Lobo
WR crew
has been on fire this week, so it has been tough for me to really
distinguish
the top corners and after listening to Coach Barlow he can't either...
Or, he
just isn't going to say who they are.
Anthony Hooks
A quick side note: As we told you earlier this
week Emmanuel McPhearson is starting
to get reps, however, he isn’t fully padded out yet. It will be
interesting to see how many plays he will be in and will he get into
the mix.
While the corners may be the least experienced position for the Lobos
this
year, the safety position is so loaded they had to send guys like Clint McPeek
and Joseph Harris to the linebacker squad. The three seniors Ian Clark
and the
Frankies (Baca and Solomon) look in midseason form. We all know Clark
is still
suffering from the shoulder injury, but hanging around the defensive
sideline
it is very obvious that Ian is a leader on this team, as most of his
teammates
listen. Also, don’t forget a budding star in Bubba Forrest who has been
very
good this camp.
DeShawn
Mills
I hate to sound like a broken record, (for those of you people a record
is a round disk that us
old folks used to get music from) but while hanging with the defense on
Tuesday it was
interesting listen to the players talk up Demond Dennis and there is no
doubt he
deserves the accolades he has received, but listening to the Lobo
defensive
players talk about Dennis' ability to hit hole with power and his
running
ability just continues to make marvel out how special of a back he is…
I don’t usually make
any kind of predictions, but James Wright has some nagging stuff going on as he was up stretching and
lifting in
what used to be called the playpen. In my mind there is no doubt that
Double D
plays this year, I’m just wondering if he is now solidifying a starting
position. Remember this not
from Coach Locks, just the big man with a camera, recorder, and a cool
gray
hat…
Speaking
of those guys fighting off nagging injuries, I saw
that Chris Hernandez is back on the practice field, which is good as I
think
the Lobos will be using a healthy dose of receivers this year…
As
far as receivers, one of my biggest beefs with all the
former O-coordinators we have had here was always that it didn’t seem
like
hitting a receiver in stride was such a big deal… I always hated seeing
a wide
out wait for a ball, or seeing a receiver run a pattern which always
had them
stopping! Not sure if that was a coaching deal or what… I really like
the way
Coach Locks has the QB’s hitting receivers in stride, as it makes a
huge
freaking difference. I saw Roland Bruno, Michael Scarlett, D. Jones,
Bryant Williams, and Double D use their momentum to break away from defenders…
Coach
Locks screams, explode, keep moving, don’t stop, finish the route, etc.
etc.
etc.
Michael Scarlett TD
These are little things that I didn’t see in
previous years.
Today as many days I see Coach Aaron Moorehead showing the receivers,
how to
catch a fade route in the end zone… How you catch it, twist your body,
and keep
the ball away from the defenders… He demonstrated it and later in
practice D.
Jones, who was obviously paying attention, used the proper technique
that Coach
Moorehead was showing them and he picked up a touchdown!
D. Jones... Who? D. Jones!
Maybe I wasn’t paying as much attention in year’s past as I
am now, but there are just attention to details that the coaches show
these
guys and in practice situations work! I told Greg Arhculeta last week
that practice was my
favorite thing about doing this Red Menace thang… Even more so then the
games,
and I will reiterate that for me it is the truth. I’m pretty sure I’ll
never be
on the sidelines of a football game during the game… But at practice, I
can
see, hear, and learn so much…
As Rudy C’s It
Yesterday
Rudy C conducted three excellent interviews but in
my sleep deprived mind I forgot to post them… So without further ado…
For Coach Locks Click
here
For Clint McPeek
Click here
For Ty Kirk Click
here