UNM football: Who have the Lobos landed commitments from in May?

Just over one month since Bronco Mendenhall said finishing the roster is “priority number one,” it’s unknown how close the Lobos are to doing so.

The only certainty? It hasn’t been a free-for-all.

“We have specific needs, have specific filters and exact identities that we’re looking for,” New Mexico’s head coach added then. “So, this isn’t just a random take from whomever, this is a targeted approach: the specific positions, body types and skill sets that we need.”

UNM has landed seven transfer commitments over the last month, a group of four offensive and three defensive players primarily from the junior college ranks. In total, the Lobos have landed commitments from 12 transfers since the start of spring practice.

The list of transfers to (publicly) commit to the Lobos in May:

Emery Floyd (QB)

Previous school: College of the Canyons (California) (2023-24)

Eligibility remaining: Three years

2023 statistics: 121-for-238 passing for 1,917 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 games with 475 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns

Notes: Floyd’s highlight reel is a fun watch: plenty of throws with zip, some lightning strikes for touchdowns and a bruising athleticism that earned him a visit (but no offer) to USC in April. A 50.8% completion percentage isn’t ideal, but at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds he’s in line with the “Thorterback” types offensive coordinator Jason Beck has thrived with in the past. Consider him one of the many names to watch come fall camp.

Niko Bohler (LB)

Previous school: Diablo Valley (California) College (2023-24)

Eligibility remaining: Three years

2023 statistics: 52 total (28 solo) tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks in 10 games

Notes: At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Bohler made a lot of plays as a freshman by simply running around or through would-be blockers – which only gets harder to do at the next level. He did finish second on the team in tackles, however, and moves well; where and how he’s lined up in Mendenhall’s preferred 3-4 defense will be telling.

LaJuan Owens (OL)

Previous school: Tulane University (2023-24)

Eligibility remaining: Four years

2023 statistics: N/A

Notes: Owens didn’t appear in a single game with the Green Wave as a freshman – barring redshirt sophomore Shadre Hurst, Tulane’s starting offensive line in 2023 was all seniors – but he’s a former three-star prospect that earned a reputation as a mauler at Fossil Ridge (Texas) High School. At 6-foot-4, 335 pounds, he brings good size to an offensive line room that remains more of a question than not heading into August.

Kader Diop (WR)

Previous school: San Diego Mesa (California) College (2023-24), Southwestern (California) College (2022-23), Concordia (Minnesota) University, St. Paul (2021-22)

Eligibility remaining: Two years

2023 statistics: 38 receptions for 612 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games

Notes: Diop’s highlight reel is filled with long (16.9 yards per reception in 2023) contested catches and fly-bys alike. There’s nothing to say he’ll immediately threaten some of the incumbents in UNM’s wide receiver room, but his catch radius and speed at 6-foot, 200 pounds makes him an interesting addition.

Drew Speech (DB)

Previous school: Monterey Park (California) College (2022-24)

Eligibility remaining: Two years

2023 statistics: 33 total (25 solo) tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions in 11 games

Notes: At 6-foot-3, 182 pounds, Speech brings size and speed – evident with his two pick-sixes last season – to UNM’s secondary.

Victor Villafuerte (DB)

Previous school: Monterey Park (California) College (2022-24)

Eligibility remaining: Two years

2023 statistics: 31 total (21 solo), seven interceptions in 11 games

Notes: Speech has a slim edge on Villafuerte (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) in all but one category: interceptions. The Hollister, California native hauled in seven interceptions as a sophomore, tying for the individual lead in the sprawling, 67-team California Community College Athletic Association last season.

Griffin Schureman (OL)

Previous school: Arizona State (2023-24)

Eligibility remaining: Four years

2023 statistics: N/A

Notes: A Queen Creek (Arizona) High School product, the 6-foot-1, 255-pound Schureman was a former preferred walk-on with the Sun Devils before transferring to UNM.

13TH GAME?: UNM Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez told the Journal last week that the chances of UNM adding a 13th game – allotted due to their game at Hawaii on Nov. 30 – remain unlikely at this stage.

“We’re always keeping ourselves open if somebody falls out with all these changes in conferences and all that … my thought is, it’ll stay where it is,” he said on Friday. “I don’t see this really changing too much.”

Mendenhall had previously said he’d be open to adding a 13th game to the Lobos’ 12-game slate with three bye weeks if it were “the right opponent in the right circumstances.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Mendenhall said of the schedule in March. “Starting with only five home games and seven on the road, I’ve never had a season where you didn’t have at least six and six. Never had two bye weeks in a year, let alone three.

“A lot of that is, I would chalk it up to transition. And inheriting a program and inheriting circumstances and then using that as a reference point to move forward. We’ll make the best of all of it. The bye weeks can help. The schedule is what it is — it’s tough, it’s great.”