UNM punter to balance football, nursing school this fall

Aaron Rodriguez was ready to give his word, even if he had no idea what that would entail.

Because, if nothing else, UNM’s starting punter had already made his decision: He was going to nursing school next fall, football or not. A specialist that had ranked among the Mountain West’s best didn’t necessarily want to walk away from the game, to close a chapter of his life a little earlier than expected.

And yet: “Academically and athletically, trying to balance that time? I had no idea if it was going to work,” Rodriguez told the Journal after Tuesday’s practice. “I didn’t know if I was going to have clinicals and had to be at the hospital, and not be able to be at practice.”

Nor was he sure he’d have the most receptive audience.

“I didn’t know if (head coach Bronco Mendenhall) was going to be okay with that,” Rodriguez added.

But if it wasn’t going to work, he was at least going to give it a shot. During Mendenhall’s first week on the job last December, Rodriguez sat down for a one-on-one with a coach who possibly didn’t know him from the next player on an inherited roster.

“I was really scared. I was ready to give him all these, ‘Hey, I can do it, I’m gonna make the time’ — I’m ready to like, plead my case,” Rodriguez remembered. “And he just stopped me like, ‘We’re gonna figure it out together.’ He was like, ‘I want you on my team. I want you to come back and have your last year.

“‘We’ll figure it out no matter what.’”

Nine months later, Rodriguez talks like somebody who’s making it work. He was one of the first players to earn their number under Mendenhall, a near-sacred tradition dating back to the coach's time at Virginia.

Rodriguez said he feels like he’s in the best shape of his life, carrying a “light” 192 pounds compared to last year’s listed weight of 200.

And the Newhall, California native is the frontrunner to return as UNM’s starting punter — while attending UNM College of Nursing.

“Like, I do have a lot of experience,” he said. “I’ve spent so much time trying to perfect my technique and what I do, because I’m not the most genetically gifted … I knew that if I wanted to play at the collegiate level I’d have to hone in my technique. I’d have to be consistent and I can’t be missing.

“So, you know, going into year 10 of kicking, I’m hoping that I’m at the top of my game," he said.

All of which UNM needs. After transferring in from Missouri in 2021, Rodriguez punted 81 times in 2021 and 2022, tying Iowa’s Tory Taylor for the most punts (162) in the nation during that stretch. As UNM’s offense cratered to near-historic lows, Rodriguez was named second team All-Mountain West in 2022 with a net average of 40.5 yards — the third-best mark in the conference.

“Those first two years, it just felt like I was consistently always ready and right into the game because we were going three-and-out all the time, you know what I mean?” he said. “Like we had games where we were punting 12 times.”

Last year was a departure. UNM was routinely battered in coverage, giving up an FBS-worst nine long (20-plus yards) returns, and Rodriguez struggled. Taking 29 fewer punts than the year before, his net average dropped to a league-worst 34.6 yards.

“I was going full halves without having to take a kick,” he said. “So I think I really needed to adjust to that (and) I think I’m gonna have to do it again this year. Hopefully I can take what I can from that and make it a positive — ’Okay, I’ve been through it now and I can prepare for it this year.’

“Because I don’t know if you’ve seen our offense, but we’re looking pretty good right now.”