NMSU Golf

A blogger on the QB post asked for some Aggie golf coverage. This is more than warranted.

NMSU finished Round 1 of their regional competition in Chattanooga in 7th place. The region has 27 teams in it. The top 10 from each region go to the NCAA Tournament.

30 teams total go to the NCAAs.

NMSU currently is in but have a long way to go. Still, that doesn't mean they can't make it. The Aggies came on strong at the end of the year, winning their final two regular season tournaments and then the WAC tourney, where they entered as the favorite. Scott Lieberwirth has done a great job since taking over the program five years ago. They've won three conference titles, two of which came in the WAC. They also have a young team. Matt Edwards is the lone senior and probably isn't even the best player on the team. That honor would be awarded to Travis Reid. Bottom line, everyone plays a role here. Kevin Lozares, Tim Madigan and Josh Stewart all had solid years, with Madigan winning WAC freshman of the year. Stewart did not make the trip to regionals after breaking his wrist. His spot is being filled by Mark Mueller.

The reality is, it's nice seeing an NMSU program do well, no matter who might be producing. Give Lieberwirth props for being competitive most years. NMSU entered regionals as the No. 25 seeded team in the 27-team bracket. In other words, they weren't supposed to do anything. They did on Day 1.

Quarterbacks

San Antonio quarterback Drew Allen confirmed to PonyStampeded.com that he got a scholarship offer from New Mexico State.

This brings us to an interesting topic: an overabundance of quarterback talent at NMSU. Obviously Chase Holbrook is the QB this season but after that it's wide open.

J.J. McDermott is the backup as we speak. Trevor Walls - I believe that's his name - should be here next season. Now Allen possibly. The QB position, if you load up on scholarships, it becomes a transfer haven. Does Mumme not believe in McDermott? He has options after this year. An interesting development to keep an eye on.

Naylor, Martinez and Cleaver

The past week it appeared as if Jared Naylor, Mike Martinez and Nick Cleaver would get shots to make NFL rosters.

First off, when I heard about Naylor, I was surprised. Jared didn't see the field much, at least not enough to really open my eyes, last season. His numbers aren't through the roof either. But whatever. Buffalo must like something about him. NMSU played in a 3-4 defense which is tough when you're D-end. We'll see what happens.

Martinez is a big guy and he has proved to be durable. Mike played every game last season. He has the size and it seems like he will be moved inside if he does make an NFL roster.

Cleaver, he was hurt last year. There's no doubt he can catch the ball. New Orleans seems like a good fit there. They have a creative offensive coach in Sean Payton. He finds roles for guys and they have had under-the-radar rookies make big impacts. Think Marques Colston two years ago and last year with running back Pierre Thomas. We'll see if they can do the same thing with Cleaver.

spring game

A few things stood out from New Mexico State's spring game the other night.

First off was the punting and kicking from Kyle Hughes. Hughes booted his first kickoff out of the endzone and had some booming punts that had solid hangtime and distance. I promise, just better special teams will ensure another win or two for NMSU this year.

The young receivers exploded and should be immediate contributors. They're all very fast. This offense is based around the play of its receivers. The quarterback gets the receivers the ball and they're asked to turn it upfield. It's simple. This is a deep unit. I just wonder why one of them can't be moved to corner. Seems like that group needs a little help.

Defensively, hard to accurately call it because of their competition. This was not the first-team Aggie offense so there is no need to jump through hoops over this one. Some things that were apparent though? For one, the group will try to be active. They will blitz, they will come to the line and drop off at the last second. They will try to disrupt the timing, rhythm and mindset of the offense. And you do that by disturbing the backfield, namely the offensive line and quarterback. That's going to be their motto. We'll see if it works.

Spence signs on

New Mexico State locked up Darin Spence for another three years and possibly a fourth to coach the women's basketball team.

Spence needed this deal. NMSU improved greatly last year and should be solid again. Spence was not a McKinley Boston hire originally but has payed dividends none-the-less. The women had a great 1-2 punch up front last year in Anikia Jawara and Sherrel Neal. Both of them will be gone but Maddi Spence is back at point guard and other players will fill in around her.

NMSU had to show Spence some sort of loyalty. He has seen the program improve in his time and produced in a season when there was pressure from up top to get some wins. Not bringing him back would have reflected poorly. Frankly, they had not choice. Gotta take care of your people if they're winning you games.

Woods injury

NMSU head football coach Hal Mumme said that cornerback Chris Woods will need shoulder surgery and will be out for the start of the 2008 season.

Mumme said he was unsure when Woods would return but it seems doubtful he'll be back for the start of the year.

The loss of Woods is significant, simply because he was a starting player at a position that seems to lack depth. Davon House and Vincent Butler have seen playing time so far this spring and the team has also been working Marvin Betts into the cornerback rotation.

Spring scrimmage

I realize this is way past deadline but I wanted to state some things about NMSU's spring scrimmage the other day.

First off, I mentioned LaVorick Williams on a previous post and he absolutely torched the Aggie secondary on his long catch and run for a touchdown. He looks to be a possible stud in the future at NMSU.

The defense was bad. You hope this ends up being an afterthought and just the first scrimmage of the year. I'm sure that had a hand in it. But the D needs to play well if the Aggies are going to make noise. Forget playing well, just hold the opposition every once in a while. They are learning a new system, sure, but the defense needs to play better if they want to go anywhere.

A few things of note:
The running back position is deep. I'm excited to see Marquell Colston come in as well. I've heard good things about him. They have talent back there and though people think running back is meaningless in the Air Raid, that isn't entirely true. The backs do see the ball often. Holbrook will often do a forward lateral to a runner out of the backfield and they'll call it a pass completion. But it might as well be a handoff. They are deep in the backfield.

I don't think they know who they will trot out on defense yet. Some positions are set in stone, but many are not. It's early and they are learning but it would be nice if some semblance of unity was out there. They have about 20 receivers on this team, can't one or two play defense? Just a question, it seems like the secondary could use some help.

I do think the team can make some noise this year. I said that last year too, maybe I'm just too optimistic. But they were alright last season until players started going down. Again, defense needs to hold other team to under 30 a game. If they do that, I think six wins is possible. A stretch, but certainly possible.