New Offense Not Run-Only Attack

On the day he was introduced as the University of New Mexico’s new football coach, and many times since, Bob Davie has talked about the importance of establishing the running game.

Then, Davie hired an offensive coordinator whose previous team ranked sixth nationally last year in rushing offense – and 103rd in passing offense.

So, if you’re a Lobos wide receiver, what do you do? What are you thinking? What does the future hold?

	Up Next Open practice: April 14, 10 a.m.-12:20 p.m.

Lamaar Thomas and Ty Kirk, both seniors, think the future looks bright.

Thomas believes new offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse’s option-heavy offense, predominantly run out of the pistol formation, will create great opportunities for the wide receivers.

“You hear ‘pistol’ and you just kind of look at the running attack,” Thomas says. “But that’s what opens up the pass and allows guys like me and Ty to stretch the field and get deep on those (defensive backs) cheating up in the run game.

“So this offense, I think, will help us out a lot in the passing game.”

It also helps, Kirk says, that new wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield is just eight years past a record-breaking college career. Stubblefield caught 325 passes during his four years at Purdue – an NCAA record that stood until it was broken last season by Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles.

“Coach Stubblefield could probably put some cleats on and run better routes than some of us out here,” Kirk says. “He’s a great coach. He wants us to be the best position group out there on the field every day, and that’s our goal, just to make a statement on this team.”

Stubblefield’s making his own statement – that nothing less than precisely run pass routes will be accepted.

“Great routes equal easy catches,” Stubblefield says. “… I’m a detail guy, and that’s what it’s gonna take for us to start developing a sense of pride about being a Lobo wide receiver.”

The Lobos’ wide receiver corps, in fact, just might be the team’s strongest position group. Even with the transfer of Deon Long, last year’s breakout star, that group includes Thomas, Kirk, sophomore Daniel Adams, senior Quintell Solomon and sophomore Donnie Duncan.

Stubblefield is not impressed – not yet, anyway.

“We’re gonna go out there with something to prove every day,” he says.

Certainly, for Thomas and Kirk, there’s plenty to prove.

Thomas, a transfer from Ohio State, came to UNM in the spring of 2010 but wasn’t eligible to play until last fall. Then, injuries limited him to four games and nine receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

If the clock’s ticking on his career, he’s not watching it – focusing only on what’s ahead.

“I’m just gonna go out there and play ball, do what I’ve been doing since I was 7,” he says. “I don’t want to put any unwanted or unneeded pressure on myself.”

Last season, Kirk tied Long for the team lead in receptions with 47 – but for only 8 yards per catch and no touchdowns.

After watching the Lobos go 4-8 during his redshirt year, and 3-33 the past three seasons, Kirk says he’s more interested in team goals than his own numbers.

“This is a team effort,” he says. “My goal is just to prove to people that … we can go out there and play, compete, and win a bowl game.”

MASON LEAVES: Junior offensive tackle J.V. Mason has left the program, Davie said.

Mason is the second offensive lineman to depart in the space of a week. Center Zach Boerboom had left earlier.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal