Joseph Matthews

The Aggies received a commitment from wide receiver/safety Joseph Matthews, from Rincon High School in Tucson.

Matthers is listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. He was a second-team all-region player as a defensive back in 2009 but the Aggies are recruiting him as a wide receiver, according to Scout.com.

Rivals.com had Matthews also being looked at by Arizona, Arizona State and Northern Arizona.

He's part of the 2011 signing class.

Betancourt lands scholarship offers

Mayfield Trojans running back Brandon Betancourt has been offered a scholarship by New Mexico State University.

Betancourt has also been offered by the University of New Mexico.

Locals getting looks

Went to Aggie football camp today where Mayfield High School was in attendance and receiving interest.

The first is obviously defensive tackle Matt Ramondo, who said he got an offer recently from the University of Arizona. That makes four offers for the lineman — New Mexico State, New Mexico, Michigan State and Arizona. All four offers have been along the defensive line, which is where Ramondo would prefer to play in college. Some believe Ramondo can play on the offensive lineman on the next level.

Another local player the Aggies are showing interest in is Mayfield running back Brandon Betancourt. Betancourt said a scholarship from NMSU is a possibility. He has also received some attention from UTEP and will go to the University of New Mexico camp next week.

Another New Mexico player the Aggies are interested in is Raton quarterback Dustin Walton.

Two El Paso players who could be on NMSU's radar are Chapin wide receivers Caleb Moore and Milton Roberts.

How does Boise State leaving the WAC effect NMSU?

In 2011, Boise State will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference.

Is that a good thing for New Mexico State?

I don’t so.

In the conference realignment madness that has taken place in college athletics this offseason, football is the engine that drives the car. It’s the money maker, and BSU believes it had a better chance of achieving its BCS Bowl Championship dreams – as well as making a better profit – in a more prestigious mid-major conference, the Mountain West.

Do I agree with the move? From Boise State’s perspective, I can’t find fault. The Broncos’ football program did great things in the WAC and, in turn, for the league. Case in point: Conference championships in seven of the last eight years and Fiesta Bowl titles in 2007 and 201; Since the Broncos joined the WAC in 2002, the team is an astounding 62-2 in conference play.

Really, with numbers like that, what else is there to prove if you’re BSU? They’re a cut above the rest of the conference, and a new challenge would seem to be in their best interest at this point.

But it does hurt the other teams in the conference – from Fresno State to Nevada, to New Mexico State to San Jose State.

Lets take a look at how Boise State’s defection will effect the landscape of the WAC.

The Broncos brought money to everyone: From Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl bid last year, NMSU received $430,000 from the NCAA. That’s what happens when a conference member makes it to a BCS bowl game. Every school gets a piece of the pie and, during a recession where mid-major programs are trying to scratch together dollars and cents, that money goes a long way.

ESPN just signed a new television deal with the WAC for the upcoming 2010 season. The sports network didn’t do it for the Dec. 4 showdown between Utah State and Idaho. No, they inked the deal because of Boise State.

Six of ESPN/ABC’s WAC telecasts this year feature the Broncos, giving not just Boise State, but all of their WAC counterparts, the exposure mid-major programs so desperately crave. Louisiana Tech, Idaho, Fresno State and Nevada all face the Broncos on ESPN2 this year, televised games that likely wouldn’t be there for those programs if the BSU wasn’t a national powerhouse.

The notoriety helps on a recruiting front: Simply by joining the WAC over five years ago, the Aggies have been able to market and brand the league to prospective student athletes. Playing in the WAC is more appealing for a football player than, say, the Sun Belt or the Big West.

Why? A big reason is because such athletes have seen the Broncos slay goliath in the Fiesta Bowl two of the last four years – beating Oklahoma in 2007 and TCU last year. They’ve seen BSU playing for undefeated seasons on the national stage, seen them battle conference foes on the famed Blue Turf at Bronco Stadium.

Speaking of Bronco Stadium, the league will now lose one of its top football venues. The Broncos were one of three WAC teams to average over 30,000 fans per game last year – coming in at 32,782. Hawaii (36,376) and Fresno State (33,578) were the other schools to hit the mark, but Boise State’s full house every game – even with the high attendance marks, Hawaii and Fresno were below a 90 percent capacity average - made it the best college football atmosphere in the conference.

The Broncos set the standard at the top: Since the Aggies joined the WAC in 2005, the conference has traditionally been four-to-five teams deep.

Programs such as Fresno State and Nevada have been solid second fiddles to BSU’s dominance and San Jose State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech and even Idaho last year have put together respectable campaigns to give the conference a nice mix at the top of the league standings.

Through it all, the Broncos have been the premier team for close to a decade. It gave the WAC depth and a strong tier of teams on different levels of college football’s totem pole.

It would seem that Fresno State will take over as the team to beat in the conference, simply because the Bulldogs have tradition and winning expectations in place. Nevada will be a contender as well and NMSU, like every team in the conference, will have a better shot at a league title with the block’s biggest bully now moving away.

But still, Boise State was the unquestioned leader, one that every team lined up behind and strived to be.

What can be done?: The WAC still has a nice one-two punch at the top of the standings with Fresno State and Nevada as legitimate conference contenders.

Other teams will need to step up behind those programs and give the league a solid core from top to bottom.

There’s been talk of Louisiana Tech leaving as well, which would be a blow. The Bulldogs have been a solid team in the conference the past three years and have a nice supply of talent. They can be a top-five team consistently if they stick around for the long haul.

Hawaii has gotten progressively worse with the loss of head coach June Jones. It would be nice if the Warriors got back into the league’s upper echelon, something the program is capable of – three years ago Hawaii made an appearance in the Sugar Bowl, which resulted in another nice payday for the league’s member schools.

Idaho was a surprise team in the WAC in 2009, winning the Humanitarian Bowl and finishing with an 8-5 overall record. It would be nice if the Vandals proved that wasn’t a fluke and had a strong 2010 to back it up. That would give them a true foundation when BSU departs the following season.

Utah State and NMSU are hopeful that improvements are in order in their second seasons under new head coaches. San Jose State was abysmal last year, but added a new head coach this offseason in Mike MacIntyre.

If two of these three teams approach the .500 mark in conference play in the next 2-3 years, if Idaho continues to move forward and if Hawaii can regain its prestige, the conference will remain a solid mid-major league with rising programs.

A lot of ifs.

Memorable moments, personalities from NMSU during past year

Men’s basketball run to the NCAA: The Aggies push to a WAC championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance was memorable because of all they had to overcome.
Marvin Menzies’ squad got off to a rocky start to the season, beginning the year 3-6 and losing a handful of times in blowout fashion. The team also was without key frontcourt players Wendell McKines and Troy Gillenwater, before both righted themselves in the classroom.
Still, Menzies held things together and the team closed the year strong, going 11-5 in conference to close out the regular season.
NMSU then went on to run through the WAC Tournament, beating host team Nevada on a Jahmar Young buzzer beater and then longtime nemesis Utah State in the tournament finals, advancing to the NCAAs.

Beating New Mexico in football: Granted, this was a game between two of the nation’s worst programs in 2009 under two first-year head coaches.
But for the Aggies, anytime you can beat New Mexico in football, up in Albuquerque no less, it needs to be considered a qualified success. When looking at how the team managed to nail down the victory, it was even more of a stunning, and memorable, outcome.
Down 17-13 late, Jeff Fleming came on in relief of starting quarterback Trevor Walls to drive NMSU 59 yards on 17 plays. It was running back Seth Smith who did most of the damage, rumbling downfield for 34 yards on eight carries. The game-winning play was a Fleming pass to wide receiver Marcus Anderson in the back of the endzone on fourth down, a play which eventually put NMSU up three with less than a minute remaining.
UNM answered with a desperation drive of its own, but a James Aho 47-yard field goal attempt at the gun went wide right.

DeWayne Walker: The first-year head coach took over at NMSU and led the team to a 3-9 record.
NMSU got off to a 3-3 start to the season and, despite the poor record, still exceeded many outside expectations during the 2009 campaign, lending fans to believe that, with adequate time and resources, Walker could eventually lead the program to a bowl game.
Those plans almost went up in smoke in early January, however, as multiple media outlets had Walker heading to the Pacific Northwest to join newly minted Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. Alas, Walker put a rest to the speculation, announcing on Jan. 14 that he would return to NMSU.

Men’s golf team winning WAC — again: It’s become normal circumstances at this point - the New Mexico State men’s golf team winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and advancing to regional play.
It’s been three straight years now the team has moved on to regionals, with each year the team falling just short of its ultimate goal - the NCAA Championships.
This year’s version saw the Aggies sputter for the better part of the spring season. NMSU hit its stride in the WAC Tournament, however, with a super-human performance by Tim Madigan — he fired a 14-under-par 202 during the three-day event — and a solid showing by his supporting cast led by freshmen Justin Shin and Justin Knauber.
The Aggies finished seventh at the San Diego Regional, missing the NCAA cut by two spots. Still, the program continues to build as the WAC’s best, and could make another push in 2011.

Women’s soccer holds its own: When a first-year program finishes with a .500 record in league play and advances to the conference tournament in its inaugural season on the field, it’s considered a success. That’s exactly what the Aggie women’s soccer team did in 2009.
Head coach Michael Needham deserves a lot of the credit for getting the program off the ground, as the team was anchored by a steady defense and solid goalkeeping from senior Katie Graul.
The Aggies won six-of-seven matches at one point and never seemed out of place on the Division-I stage.

Jahmar Young: One of the most confounding figures on the NMSU sports scene, Young embodied everything that was good and bad with the Aggie basketball team in recent years.
The team’s leading scorer and most talented offensive presence, Young showed a fearless mentality on the court and with the basketball in his hands. He hit game winning shots against Hawaii in the regular season and Nevada in the conference tournament while consistently displaying his ability as one of the WAC’s most dangerous — if not the conference’s most dangerous — offensive presence, with unlimited range and a swagger that every elite player must have.
He also found his fare share of trouble away from the court. Let it be known that Young did good as well — he was a presence with the community’s youth and worked relentlessly on his basketball game. He was never a problem in the classroom for the Aggies.
But two arrests in three years, along with other brush ups with the law are tough blemishes to touch up. His last, charged with battery of a peace police officer on April 11 at a Las Cruces Pic Quick, was the last straw before he officially hired an agent and went full-bore into the NBA Draft.
We wish Young the best as he pursues his professional dreams. His personality and performances — on and off the court — made him a unique personality in Las Cruces.

Aggie baseball: Lets just get it out of the way — the ending of the 2010 season was tough for the New Mexico State Aggie baseball team.
NMSU managed to lose 10 of its final 11 games, a run that came to a crashing halt in the WAC Tournament, as the No. 2-seeded Aggies dropped their first two games of the competition to be effectively eliminated from postseason play.
The freefall began with a four-game sweep at the hands of Fresno State at home. The series opened with the Aggies in first place and looking to clinch the No. 1 seed in the WAC. It ended with the club in second and scrambling to pick up the pieces.
The rest was history, as NMSU eventually dropped its first two games of the WAC Tournament, despite being the No. 2 seed.
The sad part is that much of 2010 was good for the NMSU baseball team. The team did lose key players during the season in catcher Ben Harty and infielder Mike Sodders. It held first place for much of the regular season and got a nice mix of performances from veterans and younger players alike. But it’s not about how you start, it’s often about how you finish. And the ending was bad.

Trevor Walls to tight end?

Quarterback Trevor Walls will most likely play tight end during the 2010 football season.

From what I hear, Walls actually approached the coaching staff about a change of positions. It seemed unlikely that Walls would see snaps at QB this year after getting limited action there during spring practices.

Can Walls play at tight end? He's a big body, listed at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds on the NMSU Web site. Also, quarterbacks have been known to make a move to receiver and pull it off, as they already have an innate knowledge of the passing game.

We'll see if it comes to fruition.

Talk with Walk

Spoke with head coach DeWayne Walker today about news and notes this spring and into the summer surrounding his New Mexico State Aggie football team.

The first topic we discussed was the quarterback situation, where Walker said the team is still actively recruiting. NMSU has a number of players at the position — Jeff Fleming and Matt Christian competed for the starting job this spring along with Tanner Rust. True freshman Andrew Manley will step in during he fall and it will be interesting to see what he can do as a 3-star recruit.

“When I spoke to (Boise State coach) Chris Peterson before our game (last December), he said that's one spot where you got to have guys,” Walker said. “It will be an ongoing competition until we find the right guy.”

The spring game last month saw Christian throw the ball effectively downfield while Fleming was able to use his legs to his advantage. Walker reiterated that while the coaching staff would like to see one guy take the reigns as the starting signal caller, if the Aggies have to enter the season with two QBs sharing snaps, they will.

“Matt Christian, he brings something that we lacked last year and that is leadership and confidence,” Walker said. “It's something we'll pay close attention to going into training camp.

“Fleming can run and we'll pay close attention to that too. We're not an option team and you gotta be able to function throwing the football.”

The head coach seems excited about incoming players that will make an appearance for the Aggies at fall camp. Kenny Turner should provide a spark in a backfield that already seems fairly stable while wide receiver Taveon Burke can hopefully bring speed and big-play ability on the outside. Aundre McGaskey will also be a big body at offensive tackle that can possibly take the field contribute immediately.

Defensively, the Aggies will add tackles Tommy Stuart and David Mahoney who should sure up the interior of the line.

Also, expect NMSU to bring in a body or two at wide receiver and safety in an attempt to provide depth and competition to the positions as the 2010 season nears.