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It was the intellectual half of Hayes Baum’s brain that turned him.
“One thing that really inspired me about the Lobos,” he said, “is how technical they are. They’re real surgical. They’re really precise. That’s the type of program I want to be around.”
Baum, Cibola High School’s outstanding senior linebacker, on Friday morning went on social media to declare his commitment to new coach Jason Eck and UNM.
“I love learning the game,” Baum, 18, said. “Every little detail I can get my hands on, it just attracts me. … Be the best player for that program.”
Cibola coach David Howes said he believed Baum is the first player to sign Division I out of the Cougars football program since Blair Manly in 2014. Manly also was a Lobo.
This was a quick courtship. It was just several weeks ago that Eck and the Lobos offered Baum.
“Probably the hardest worker I’ve ever coached in high school,” Howes said. “And I’ve had a lot of great players in the past. But this kid is different. He’s kind of like a player from the ‘90s; I have to stop him from overtraining, and that’s still a challenge. I’ve had kids that love the game and kids that do extra, but this kid is just different.”
Howes, himself a former defensive coach for UNM, said Baum is the type of player he would have recruited.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Baum is a quick, fierce, tackling machine for Cibola, although he missed more than half the 2024 season with injuries to his elbow and knee. He was one of Class 6A’s elite linebackers two years ago.
And now he’s returning, having put this particular decision behind him.
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“I admire people who take a shot on kids,” Baum said. He said UNM offered him a scholarship after attending a recent camp.
Where is he poised to possibly help the Lobos down the road? He’s built very much like a safety; Howes believed he could blossom into a solid outside linebacker. He plays on the inside for Cibola.
“He has all the intangibles (to be) a Division I football player,” Howes said. “Coach Eck saw he had an energy and a vibe around him that really fit in Loboland. He’s got nothing but heart and nothing but ability.”
