2009 NCAA - New Mexico
The Lobos will have a new coach roaming the sidelines this fall for the first time since 1998, as Rocky Long guided the Lobos to bowl-eligibility in seven of his final eight seasons. This, from a team that won its own New Mexico Bowl in 2007 for its first bowl win since 1961! Still, after a disappointing 4-8 injury-marred season in 2008, Long decided to hang it up - and no one really tried to stop him. Long will be the defensive coordinator for Brady Hoke at San Diego State, and in charge of implementing the 3-3-5 at New Mexico's Mountain West rival this fall. In the meantime, Mike Locksley takes over, coming in from Illinois, where he ran the offense under Ron Zook. Locksley also helped Zook at Florida, and is known as a solid coordinator and recruiter.
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New Mexico
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Getting them to come to Albuquerque is one thing; getting them to stay might be another. Locksley got highly-touted QB Emmanuel Yeager out of Washington D.C. in for the spring - but Yeager got homesick and headed home shortly thereafter. Senior Donovan Porterie will again be the man this year, most likely. He threw for more than 3,000 yards in 2007 before a knee injury last fall. The Lobos want to run a no-huddle spread that Locksley utilized with Juice Williams last year. The top two rushers, including 1,100-yard stud Rodney Ferguson, depart. Locksley is making the call to scrap Long's 3-3-5 in favor of a 4-3 with defensive coordinator Doug Mallory coming over from LSU to help ease the transition. Without the unique defensive looks, the Lobos might well struggle in the spread-happy MWC. |
| ASK the bookie? - A brutal early slate includes trips to Texas A&M and Texas Tech, with home games against Tulsa, Air Force and New Mexico State sandwiched in between. If they can win two of those games, consider the start of the Locksley regime a wild success. With only nine seniors (fewest in the league) back this fall, a three-win season looks to be within a win either way of the best the Lobos can hope for as Locksley begins to script his own chapter of Lobo football history. |
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