Monday, January 19, 2009

Local recruiting

It looks as if the NMSU football program is trying to recruit more locally, a change from past years.

The reasons this is being done are fairly obvious. For one, the area has been underutilized by NMSU. High school football has been a success in Las Cruces, yet previously it has gone unrecognized. James Hall Jr. and Dante Caro being pursued was important.

The Aggies also had a major overhaul this offseason. To keep some semblance of stability and even show some progress, the school felt the need to go out and recruit. And it also needed commits. They got some from the El Paso area while the team was in the process of finding a head coach. It kept the ball moving. We'll see the talent they scored by doing so.

And the program needs to be a presence in the community. Often, teams with such a need will do anything possible to try to endear itself to the locals. Showing interest in, perhaps even getting, players from the Las Cruces area is a good start. El Paso will work, not as effectively, but it will help.

From a PR standpoint it's a good move. If these players can help the Aggies win, it will be a great move.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lesson learned from the Dumme era?
Don't alienate the community or your attendance will suffer!

Coach Walker has visited all three LC High schools and talked to coaches and administrators about supporting NMSU outside of UNM and Utep.
This is something we never saw from Dumme.
The previous hack, was a social hermit, who was arrogant and un-approachable!

Coach Walker has a vision and wants the community to be part of that vision.
It takes a village!

Anonymous said...

I think the fact that the AD waited so long we were handcuffed as to how well we could recruit this year.

So when all else fails, you have to go local. LC, EP, and even Abq. I'm sure if Coach Walker had his way he would recruit a few kids locally, but it wouldn't be his main focus.

Anonymous said...

Well hopefully his legwork will pay off.
Dante and James would be good gets for NMSU in so many ways.
Then there are a few good ones to look at out of next year's (2010) crop as well.
Hope the momentum continues under coach DW!

Anonymous said...

anon 10:45 - You blame the AD for taking too long to make the hire, but don't give him credit for the hire. You can't eat your cake and have it too.

You, sir, are lame.

Anonymous said...

I think NMSU needs to offer Troy Harris from Rio Rancho. He is the best player in the state.

Anonymous said...

I think a good point to bring up is the talent level of EP and ABQ. These cities are twice the size of LC, but are still regional. We often compete for the same talent so why not target their kids. I know die hard Las Cruces homers will say something like LC and Mayfield have won State. Well that doesn't mean that there arent talented players up north. And I dont think anyone would argue that LC teams could compete with a Euless Trinity, Katy, or Odessa Permian football teams.

Anonymous said...

7:17, Dr. Boston is that you?

I don't think the post was meant to discredit Coach Walker or his hire. The problem was that Coach Walker was the top choice of the fans and more than likely the AD. But waiting until the end of the month, gave schools like UNM a head start on targeting and recruiting kids NMSU may have wanted to go after.

Anonymous said...

Since I don't live in NM and don't follow high school football, I have no idea if the LC schools produce FBS (formerly D-I) scholarship players. Maybe someone can enlighten me. My point is if LC is producing that type of talent, then DW should definitely spend time focusing on the locals. If not, then probably should not be high on his priority list. Frankly, wins will put fans in the seats more than anything else, regardless of where the kids played in high school.
-Aggie Glare

Anonymous said...

Teddy. DeWayne Walker got a commitment from 3-star QB Tanner Rust who had offers from San Jose STate, and San Diego State. Teddy, NMSU has a three-star JUCO DT who signed with Kansas State last year. NMSU signed another JUCO DT who signed with UNM and red-shirted his freshman year there. He left UNM after a death in his family. He had offers from Arizona, Washington, Washington State, Arizona, and San Jose State. WRite an article on how great of a recruiter DeWayne Walker has turned out to be.