Season opener Aug. 31: UT-San Antonio at New Mexico, time TBA

Bollema, a senior, plays the “will” inside linebacker. He’s one of only two full-time starters returning from last season’s UNM defense.

He arguably was the Lobos’ No. 1 defensive playmaker in 2012, leading the team in total tackles with 89 and in interceptions with three. He earned All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention honors.

New Mexico struggled on defense last season, ranking 97th among 120 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams in yards allowed per game. But without Bollema at the will and 2012 senior Joe Stoner at the “mike,” the numbers might have been far worse.

The lack of experience around Bollema this time around, second-year coach Bob Davie says, makes him that much more important.

UNM senior linebacker Dallas Bollema is one of only two full-time starters back from last year’s Lobos’ defense. (MARLA BROSE/JOURNAL)

“He’s the one guy,” Davie said after Tuesday’s practice, the seventh of 15 spring workouts in preparation for the fall. “When you look out there, he’s the one guy that’s played and has played down after down.

“As much as the quarterback on offense is so significant in just how you get lined up and how you check, a lot of people don’t realize how cerebral you have to be on defense with checks. Dallas is that guy.”

That’s a responsibility Bollema embraces.

“When you understand the game, you play fast,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to get to right now, especially with a lot of new guys that are coming into the position.

“I want everyone to feel smart out there. When you’re smart, you play quick.”

Bollema came to UNM from Artesia, where he was a three-year All-State selection. After sitting out the 2009 season as a redshirt, he was a backup linebacker and special-teams standout in 2010. He became a starter as a sophomore in 2011 and last season started all 13 games.

Kevin Cosgrove, UNM’s inside linebackers coach, has eight players in his group. Bollema is the only one among them who has started a game. Other than Bollema, only junior Toby Ball and senior David Orvick, a junior college transfer, played at all last year.

“He’s a great role model for the guys,” Cosgrove says of Bollema. “Just the way he plays, his attitude, the way he comes to work every day.”

At Artesia, Bollema was part of Class 4A state championship teams in 2006-07.

During his time at UNM, including his redshirt year, the Lobos are 7-42.

If the Lobos are to have a winning record and get a bowl bid this season – goals that seemed attainable the middle of last season but slipped away – the defense must improve.

“This is it,” Bollema said. “… It means a lot to the seniors, because we’ve been through a lot.

“We want to go out holding our heads high.”

SCOREBOARD: The UNM Board of Regents has approved the purchase of a new scoreboard/video board to replace the one at the north end of University Stadium.

Gov. Susana Martinez last week approved a capital outlay expenditure of $1.5 million toward the project. The plan is to have the new board in place by the 2013 season opener Aug. 31 against Texas-San Antonio.

Athletic director Paul Krebs said Tuesday that the project is out for bid, but that the exact price is unknown.

“We’ve got $1.5 (million),” Krebs said. “We are attempting to try and raise some (additional) money, but that won’t slow down the project.”

The actual amount granted for the project was about $1.67 million, a figure that includes funds to replace the floor at the Pit.

Martinez also approved a capital outlay expenditure of $100,000 for lights at UNM’s baseball field, but vetoed $75,000 for improvements to the practice facility at the UNM Championship Golf Course.

SUMMER CAMPS: Registrations for UNM’s summer football camps are being accepted. For more information, go to golobos.com or call 505-925-5700.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal