Sunday, August 30, 2009

Jeff Fleming

Well, he's going to get the nod Week 1 against the University of Idaho as the Aggies' starting quarterback.

It's funny, last week I put on the blog that I liked Trevor Walls in the quarterback competition. The next day, the passing game looks bad in practice, with Walls throwing two interceptions. Then that Saturday, Fleming came out and looked better during the team's scrimmage. He looked a lot better, throwing two touchdowns and moving the team into scoring position on three or four occasions. After that game, it was obvious. Fleming would start for the Aggies, and why not? He stood out when in mattered most.

Whoever is going to be under center will have to stick to a blueprint we have talked about on the blog since the spring. Play smart, move the first-down markers and show leadership. Again, the QB doesn't need to be a gamebreaker, but they need to play
within the confines of the offense and step up when the time is right.

I think Fleming can do this, particularly if the Aggie running backs stay healthy. If Colston or Glynn get hurt, it will put more pressure on the QB to play above his head. When the game situation is reasonable, play smart, efficient football.

Alphonso Powell: Powell will start at strong safety, next to Stephon Hatchett who is at free.

When Powell first got here, he was a cornerback. Last year, he was asked to be a playmaker in the 3-3-5 as a bandit. He did well, making over 70 tackles and mixing in some of big plays.

This year, he's at safety. At the beginning of spring camp, he wasn't even in the conversation to be a starter. When fall rolled around, he was in the top-four on the depth chart and now will get the nod Week 1.

"How could you not be proud?" safeties coach Mike Rutenberg said. "Alphonso went from backup to first string and back to backup again. Now, he's first string. He's emerging."

Powell sounds happy in his role.

"Oh, it's very exciting for me," he said. "I'm kind of the quarterback of the defense back there. And I get to make plays. Which is always fun."

Saturday's practice: The Aggies are prepping for the University of Idaho.

The team ran a fast and efficient practice on Saturday night. Everyone was moving and into it, coaches and players alike.

"I'm really happy," DeWayne Walker said. "We're working for Idaho, that's it. We're learning there schemes here in a short period of time. But I think both the offense and defense looked comfortable."

Just let the games begin already.

Injury updates: Walker said that both Kyle Nelson and Davon House (House sat out Saturday's practice) will be ready to go against the Vandals.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

For some reason I think we are going to blow the doors off the Vandals.

Anonymous said...

ANON. 8:33,
Your not the only one who feels the same way!

The team has put in a lot of work and I would love for the Walker to start with a BIG Win!

The fans need to show up in throngs and make a TON of noise!

Go Aggies, kick some @ss!

Anonymous said...

How is ticket sales going so far for the Idaho game?

Anonymous said...

Four more days and wake up, before we tear into the vandals and get the Walker era on the right foot!!

Ticket sales are going very good! I heard we are 20,0000 sold tickets!

Anonymous said...

There is no way we have 20,000 tickets sold

Anonymous said...

i dont think that the students will show up. This is the first 3 day weekend and a lot go back home. We shall see

Anonymous said...

Go Aggies! The town really needs to come out and support the new era on Saturday!

We can all start off game weekend by joining Coach Walker at his luncheon on Friday at noon at Eddie's Bar and Grill. Coach is generous enough to share his time with the public/fans...we need to show up to support him.

Let's break 20k Saturday as Coach Walker gets the first W of his career.

Anonymous said...

Do you know if William Bullock will be eligible to play for us against Idaho? I hope season ticket sales are around 20,000

Anonymous said...

Yes Way!!! Go Aggies!

Anonymous said...

I think if Juan Lozano is going to be pimping the program in the comments section (which I don't mind with the following condition) he should attach his name.

Anonymous said...

I'm from Waverly Ohio and think it is entirely possible that Trevor Walls will leave after this season. Rosenbach's system is not a fit for Trevor's NFL prototype and I , as well as many others think he could flourish elsewhere. Despite that, he is a team player and will give 100% each and every week.

Anonymous said...

Teddy, it seems that your earlier (pre-Spring) prediction could be correct. Walls is an Air Raid quarterback and does not seem to fit in NMSU's current system. Kudos to him for at least sticking it out and giving Walker a chance; he is a wonderful student athlete and will wait his turn. Good luck to the Aggies against Idaho.

Anonymous said...

I agree with my Waverly counterpart regarding Trevor Walls. He will stay in there and push Fleming throughout the season and at some point,maybe steal his job. But in the grand scheme of things,it's easy to see in his interviews, that Rosenbach is not a fan of Trevor's style. Knowing Trevor and having a father who coached him for 4 years,I know his capabilities. Like dad says, "If I were going to war, I would pitch my wigwam around Trevor Walls". With that being said, if he doesn't see any time by the end of the season, I would rather see him some place(1AA) that would utilize his style. He's more of what NFL scouts want than what your main stream NCAA coaches want.

Anonymous said...

I like the Walls kid. I think he has a big future in college, however when the O-Coordinator makes the statement that the Rust kid reminds him so much of himself, well it does not speak well of Walls' future as an Aggie.

He may be the big gun,that NMSU needs, however if the O doesn't match the X then we may be reading about him making it big at another school.

Anonymous said...

The strong points Walls contributes are the weak points for Fleming and vice versa. If the Aggies can't go downfield then Walls may be a better fit at QB in the long term. Also consider Rosenbach is trying to make a running team out of players recruited by Hal Mumme for the "Air Raid" offense. I watched it happen with my high school team-A new coach wants to run the wing-T with a group of seniors who grew up in the pro-I spread. After losing in week one,they went back to the spread and slowly worked in the running game through the year. They went 8-2 that year.