Tuesday, January 13, 2009

McDermott, Williams gone

When I first heard about J.J. McDermott leaving, it was really no shock at all.

J.J. came here to play in Hal Mumme's offense. I'm not saying that Tim Rosenbach isn't a skilled offensive coordinator, he could be an even better one, who knows. But J.J. came because of Hal.

The bottom line is that McDermott didn't show much in his brief action last year to elicit any real excitement from Aggie fans. The one game I do remember is Louisiana Tech two years ago where he played well enough to win as a true freshman. He was cool under pressure and after the game handled it like he'd been there before. I will remember his demeanor and the fact that the moment wasn't too big for him. I will also remember that every time he got in trouble in that game he would throw it the Chris Williams who made one amazing grab after another.

Where do that Aggies go from here? Some will say Trevor Walls, but I wouldn't be surprised if he goes somewhere else too. Again, he came from Ohio to play in the Air Raid. It still amazes me that these kids came here for that offense. I'm not saying that QBs don't put up big numbers in the system, they do. But from Ohio to New Mexico, that's a big trip for a kid.

Honestly, I think I was more disappointed that LaVorick Williams left. I never really expected J.J. to stay but I was under the impression that LaVorick might stick around. There was something about him that was exciting on the football field. Nice hands, big and fast. As a freshman, you saw the ability.

The bottom line is that this is going to be a rebuilding year for the Aggies. They will look for a new signal caller and will be replacing many key pieces on offense - QB and Chris Williams and AJ Harris at wide receiver. But we will look for signs of improvement. Their attitude in the way they play. I expect the team to be tougher and play with an edge. How they compete against certain opponents - their rivals and the upper echelon of the WAC. Football is about attitude and playing with a chip on your shoulder. NMSU needs that chip back.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree T.F. but C.D.W. will get the right players in here I am sure, and the rebuilding will be faster than the demise of modern aggie football under Hal.

Anonymous said...

Williams had a lot of upside to him, too bad about his departure.

I don't know much about JJ.
When he should have gotten on the field, Dumme kept him on the sidelines so Chase, could pad his stats.

I heard that JL Dunn is not coming back. Is this true?
Too bad, I would have taken him over Wilson any day.
Well, at least JL Dunn gets paid until the end of the year.

BTW,
Has that idiot, Greg Harrod been fired yet?

Teddy said...

It doesn't seem like Joe Lee Dunn will be back. Walker said the other day that Earnest Wilson would return and that it seemed unlikely anyone else would be retained.

Anonymous said...

I agree, LW had more potential, but the loss of JJ leaves a lack of depth at qb. How many scholarships are still available? Other than Walls are there any other player who might be leaving?

I posted on Felix's blog that the transfer of JJ left me scratching my head, he could/would have been the starter here, but is now going to give up one year of eligibility to transfer with no guarantee that he will start at SMU as a Sr. A quick search on ESPNU shows they have 7 qb's, played two freshman who should have more exp. next year and would be the front runner to start 2010 when JJ is eligible.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, SMU has a lot of depth at QB.
He had a better chance of starting at NMSU than at SMU.

Certainly a bad call on his part.

I really liked LW and hate to see him go. He wants to run track and we don't offer that that sport for men.
Good luck LW.

Anonymous said...

I am fairly certain that Walls is back at school with intentions on remaining an Aggie.

Anonymous said...

Man I just dont understand this kid. He leaves because he would not be in the offense that he wanted and yet he goes somewhere where he will probably never take a snap. Seriously, you never showed anything that good here, the job will be yours next semester and you leave? Good call McDermott.

GS

Anonymous said...

Trevor Walls was recruited by coach Wilson. Walls is staying. I heard Walls was the best QB on the team last year including being better than Chase, so expect to see NMSU starting a red-shirt freshman next season. We are rebulilding, so we should go with Walls.

Anonymous said...

JJ has 1 year r/shirt and 2 years eligibility left so he will be in a good position at SMU. Bigger school, better chance to be seen by the scouts etc. I didn't think he would consider staying at NMSU if there was a valid opportunity someplace else.

Anonymous said...

Teddy,
Ohio to LC is a long trip. But not for kids who want to play QB at a FBS school and are not enormously talented. If Walls had other options to play QB at a FBS school closer to home, no way he'd be at NMSU. I'm guessing the Air Raid offense and some of Holbrook's stats caught his eye as well.

At NMSU, rebuilding is common. As you indicated on an earlier post, this will be an enormous challenge for DW. I hope people are patient - it will likely be very ugly (I don't even want to think about playing at "The Shoe" next year). The long process to pick a HC who seemed to be the obvious choice from the get go certainly hurt recruiting too. And recruiting to NMSU is tough enough.
-Aggie Glare

Anonymous said...

DeWayne Walker wasn't my first pick, but he can't do any worse than Mumme the Dummy (as a friend of mine who's an LSU supporter calls him-he said that's how Hal is known in the SEC). My friend told me from the beginning that Mumme at NM State would be a disaster.

I'm sure Walker will make visible improvement almost immediately.

Anonymous said...

I think it will be deja vu all over again-Walker will be the save us coach yr #1-Well we are rebuilding yr#2-Year three he will be a piece of crap and we shoulda/coulda got Coach______fill in the blank. Las Cruces needs to change their attitutude towards sports before a team will be successful there. The students won't even support basketball, football or whatever and they get in free with the fees they pay with their tuition. Can't keep quality athletes or coaches in an atmosphere like I've seen at NMSU.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 5:38 PM said...
"Trevor Walls was recruited by coach Wilson."

Maybe that's the reason Coach WIlson was the only one retained.

Anonymous said...

The job was not JJ's. I believe there is a reason he transferred. Mumme had Walls run scout team offense last year so that he would be seeing a first string defense everyday in practice.

Anonymous said...

JJ was too much like Holbrook. I don't care how many thousands of yards Holbrook threw for, he always choked at the worst times. I couldn't keep up with all the interceptions for TD's the other way he threw in his career (most of which were unforced errors). JJ played just like Chase whenever he got in the game.

I hope Walker will use an athletic QB that can run the ball and create plays out of the pocket when he has to. Someone like a Buck Pierce.

Anonymous said...

Until we get a decent o line there's not a quarterback we can get that will be effective. Holbrook also led the WAC in sacks, Our O line sucks big time

Anonymous said...

Well I hated to see lavorick williams leave because he has the size and the speed to be a great division 1 Wideout and prolly a great NFL wideout to.But it some talk going on that lavorick williams is trying to come to play football at new mexico state. So let just keep are finger cross in hope that he does come back to the team.