Lobo Punter Gets League Honor

Are the stars coming out? That depends on which online college football recruiting service you’re looking at.

Two of those, espn.com and scout.com, agree that the New Mexico Lobos have six nonbinding commitments toward their 2013 recruiting class. They agree on who those players are.

The two services apparently disagree, though, on how good they are.

According to espn.com, not one of those six players rates a single star based on its one- to five-star evaluation system.

Scout, in contrast, rates the prospective Lobos this way:

⋄  Defensive lineman William Udeh (6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Coppell, Texas, High School), three stars.

Two stars each for:

⋄  Safety Trevon Roy (6-2, 208, Dallas Pinkston High School). Roy, the most recent player to commit to UNM, is listed as an “athlete” by espn.com — meaning his eventual position is undetermined.

⋄  Defensive lineman Samuel Mabany (6-6, 240, Denver South High School).

⋄  Outside linebacker Kimmie Carson (6-2, 210, East Central High School in Tulsa, Okla.).

⋄  Running back Romell Jordan (5-9, 165, Cleveland High School).

⋄  Cornerback Jadon Boatright (5-11, 165, Liberty Hill, Texas, High School.

Is espn.com simply more stingy with stars than Scout? Not necessarily.

High school quarterbacks Zack Greenlee and Aaron Zwalen have committed to Fresno State and Hawaii, respectively. They get four stars apiece from ESPN, two from Scout. Go figure.

Regarding those stars, or the lack of them, UNM coach Bob Davie is unconcerned.

“I don’t care if (UNM recruits) are three-star, two-star, one-star,” he says, “because that’s all BS.”

It’s far too early, Davie says, to begin grading his 2013 class.

“We’ll see,” he says. “But we’re organized; we’ve worked out butts off evaluating. We’ve not got caught up in where we’re ranked as a recruiting class and all that stuff, which means nothing.”

SKAER HONORED: Lobos junior punter Ben Skaer was named Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Saturday’s season-ending, 24-20 loss to Colorado State.

Skaer punted five times against the Rams for an average of 50.4 yards. Three of his punts forced CSU to begin drives inside its 10-yard line.

Because of Skaer’s efforts this season, UNM led the Mountain West in net punting average (punt yardage minus return yardage) at 39 yards and ranked 26th in the nation.

Skaer’s average of 43.9 yards per punt ranked him second in the Mountain West and 25th nationally.

HOOKS ARRESTED: Former UNM cornerback Anthony Hooks was arrested on domestic violence charges earlier this month. According to Metropolitan Court records, prosecutors are not pursuing the case against Hooks but still could do so.

Hooks, a four-year starter for the Lobos from 2008-11, was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Nov. 14. He was released Nov. 16 after posting a $7,500 bond.
— This article appeared on page D5 of the Albuquerque Journal