It looks like Chris Buckner will also be in the mix and possibly start at cornerback.
"Buckner is also in the hunt at corner," coach DeWayne Walker said via text message on Sunday. "He and Green will battle."
Buckner impressed me last year when he stepped forward and voluntarily moved from wide receiver to defensive back. He wanted to get out on the field and felt like going to the other side of the ball gave him a greater opportunity at playing time.
In the end, it didn't. Chris made just five tackles last season and broke up one pass. Still, the potential is there. Buckner is a good athlete and looks like he could play the position effectively.
Again, Davon House will start on the other side as the team's No. 1 cover man.
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The linebacker position looks like an area of concern.
I like Ross Conner as a player. Ross has a high motor and is a local guy. You gotta pull for him.
But, at the same time, he will have big shoes to fill when replacing Nick Paden as the Aggies' middle linebacker.
Jason Scott should be effective once again and has a nose for the ball. Last year he was a good player in Joe Lee Dunn's defense.
But Scott and Conner have the same battle to fight - a lack of size. Both stand at 5-foot-10 and just over 200 pounds. It is an issue.
There is also not a ton of depth at the position. I would expect Justin Alford and Jamar Cotton to see the field as well. After that, the roster has just three other players listed - Boyblue Aoelua, Sam King and Numi Lolohea.
This is a concern for me. This unit will have a lot of fight in it. But how will it stack up against the competition? And what will happen at midseason, when guys get banged up and the lineup becomes shuffled? On paper, it doesn't look good.
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7 comments:
I wouldn't be surprised to see Walker sign a couple of JUCO LB this month.
There is another CB coming in from California as a preferred walk-on that's pretty good. He turned down several 1AA offers to come to NMSU. Devin Jackson, 5'8" 170 lbs. His highlights can be seen on www.scout.com
This looks like it might be an opportunity for some of the incoming freshmen - perhaps even a walk-on or two to have a chance to contribute. I suspect there may be one or two position changes coming up - maybe one of the smaller DEs or larger DBs to move to LB.
It would not surprise me to see one or two players who have not been in the public eye to get recruited at the last minute like anon 2:58 said.
There are JUCO players who did not sign that might be interested in such an opportunity. For the most part they would be a bit of a long shot. Are there any scholarships available with the transfer of Chuck Taylor or the other moves from the roster?
Is Brenden Warner really in school, and if so how might that affect the player assignments to positions?
It's going tobe a tough year.
Thanks Dumme!
What are the rumblings about the offense for upcoming season? After the spring game, it didn't look too promising. The passing attack was almost nonexistent, and the running game was coming along, but nothing to throw a scare into opponents.
It looks to me like this year there will be a number of positions that are unsettled going into fall practice, and may that stay that way until the first couple of games. I'm wondering whether the surprises will be good suprises or bad ones? Anybody out there got any good ideas on that?
There will be walk-ons in the mix that have an opportunity to compete at linebacker.
BJ Adolpho will also be in the mix after returning from his mission.
Also, Cotton and Sam King will compete for a starting outside linebacker spot in the fall.
I think Jamar Cotton will have a monster year. I think he as been underrated since he got to Las Cruces. Also Powell will find is way on to the field this year. He may have been a little behind in the spring, but I look for him to be a impact player in the D-backfield.
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