Saturday, July 28, 2007

Reason for Archibald delay

It is to my understanding that Damon Archibald will be hired by Sacramento once Reggie Theus finishes rounding out his coaching staff.

Theus has already brought in Kenny Natt. The former Aggie coach is also expected to hire Chuck Person as a bench coach and has not decided yet on his third assistant. Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie apparently told Theus that he can not bring in Archibald until he rounds out his staff.

That has been the reason for the delay. Once Theus squares things away with his bench, expect Arch to be on his way to Sac.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Bell will not be with Aggies

Running back Randell Bell will not be with the Aggies this upcoming season as he did not qualify academically. Bell had to nail down an 820 SAT and a 2.5 GPA and failed to hit the 2.5. The coaching staff was very excited about Bell going into the year but now will be without him. Hal Mumme confirmed the report.

No one will really know how the loss effects NMSU because no one saw Bell play. The team still figures to have decent depth at running back, especially if Justine Buries comes back strong. If not, we’ll see. Tonny Glenn had a nice spring and figures to get a look no matter what.

Mumme also said that A.J. Harris will remain suspended until his legal issues are squared away meaning that he could be out of practice until his trial passes. Harris is scheduled to appear in court on August 15. After that the team will determine what his punishment will be. My guess is a suspension Week 1 versus SE Louisiana and then get him back on the field when the team goes to Albuquerque to take on the Lobos. We’ll see.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Mumme says so far so good for Buries

Aggies coach Hal Mumme said that all indications point to Justine Buries returning on schedule. Buries is expected to be in contact drills in August as the team prepares for it’s opening game against SE Louisiana. Mumme said that he was hesitant to talk about the back’s development but that Buries has told him that, up to this point, he feels good.

Still, there are concerns about Buries. He’s struggled with injuries in the past and knee injuries are particularly tricky. What will happen when he gets banged around for the first time and will he catch up to speed mentally after suffering such a setback? Those will be the biggest concerns. Obviously a healthy Buries would be a nice addition to the team.

Even if he comes back strong I expect him to split a lot of the backfield duties. Tonny Glynn had a strong spring and Mumme expects him to contribute. As will Jeremiah Williams. And, during spring ball, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Randell Bell.

Monday, July 23, 2007

June Jones gives props to NMSU

When asked about players that stand out to him throughout the WAC at media day on Monday, Hawaii coach June Jones mentioned his own quarterback Colt Brennan and Boise State running back Ian Johnson. After that he turned his attention to the Aggies.

“I really like the quarterback at New Mexico State and the little slot they have. He’s an exciting player. Last year New Mexico State had a running back that didn’t play against us – I can’t think of his name but I remember watching the tape. He’s a really talented kid.”

Jones was talking about Chase Holbrook and Chris Williams initially. As for the running back, Jones was discussing Justine Buries who sat out the majority of last season with a knee injury.

Jones went on the talk about San Jose State as well but went back to the Aggies later in the presser.

“The sleeper to me, I really do believe this because Hal (Mumme) has a quarterback, is New Mexico State. They lost two or three, maybe even four really close games last year. If they won those, they would have been like San Jose last year – 8-4, 8-3. They seem to have taken a step up.”

Here’s the 2007 WAC football preseason media poll
Hawaii (32 first place votes, 494 points)
Boise State (26, 490)
Fresno State (361 points)
Nevada (337)
San Jose State (321)
New Mexico State (233)
Louisiana Tech (157)
Utah State (110)
Idaho (107)

Coaches poll
Hawaii (6 first place, 62 points)
Boise State (3, 59)
Nevada (45 points)
Fresno State (40)
San Jose State (39)
New Mexico State (31)
Louisiana Tech (25)
Utah State (13)
Idaho (10)

Saturday, July 21, 2007

How can Mumme not bring Holbrook?

Hal Mumme is bringing receiver Chris Williams and safety Derrick Richardson to media day this week in San Jose. Chase Holbrook should be there. He’s the face of the team and every other program is bringing its top dog. It would be a hot button topic for media members there to explore and give further notoriety to NMSU.

Colt Brennan will get the majority of attention whether Holbrook is there or not. But still, Chase will garner national recognition this season and his presence should be felt at media day. The Aggies are banking on a breakout year and are riding the arm of their QB. Williams makes sense as he’s a star. And Richardson is a beast. But Holbrook should be there as, right now, he’s the face of the program.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Friday's presser

From my understanding, Friday’s presser revolves around NMSU and UNM establishing a rivalry series similar to other college rivalries across the country. There will be a point total for each individual event. The school with the highest number of points tallied by the end of the year wins the series and receives a trophy.

Friday's presser

From my understanding, Friday’s presser revolves around NMSU and UNM establishing a rivalry series similar to other college rivalries across the country. There will be a point total for each individual event. The school with the highest number of points tallied by the end of the year wins the series and receives a trophy.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Not a surprise

The fact that Chris Pompey looks to be coming back to NMSU isn’t a surprise at all. When Herb Pope restated his commitment it was fairly obvious that Pompey, and his presence at NMSU, had a lot to do with it.

The futures of Gus Hauser and Damon Archibald should shake out fairly soon. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing Archibald back. When he didn’t get hired as coach he took it hard. And you have to figure that Menzies needs to bring in at least one assistant from the outside. Both Pompey and Archibald are two big personalities, and it could be hard for Menzies to make an imprint with both of them around. Hauser seems like a toss up but I would say that there’s a decent chance that he comes back in some capacity. We’ll see how it shakes out