Meet New Mexico's 'rhino': Isaiah Sillemon thriving in hybrid role

To Isaiah Sillemon, it was a “blessing in disguise.” A position change a few weeks into fall camp, far from a rare occurrence as a new staff works to fit players into different spots.

Sillemon’s change ended up being different than most, however.

Since the midway point of fall camp, Sillemon has operated as UNM’s primary rhino: a hybrid tight end-offensive lineman commonly seen when teams employ heavy sets. When the Lobos have needed an extra blocker running or passing the ball, short yardage or not, the redshirt junior has been there — regardless of where he’s lined up.

“You’re basically a tight end, extra O-lineman, fullback — you’re kinda everything in the book,” the 6-foot-1, 291-pound Sillemon told the Journal after practice on Tuesday. “So a lot’s getting thrown at you, but you got to make the most of the opportunity and know what you’re doing. And have fun doing it.

“Because not everybody can do it.”

And through six games, he’s largely thrived: Sillemon is rated as UNM’s third-best run blocker by Pro Football Focus with a grade of 68.1.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall said Sillemon’s role is an “innovation” that’s as much about what the Dallas native has brought to the table as UNM’s attempt to maximize resources.

“When we find a skillset for a player, regardless of whether it’s conventional or not, we work to get him on the field,” Mendenhall said during a press conference on Monday. “Sillemon is a good center, he’s a good guard — he could play offensive line. But rather than having him watch, because he moves well, he can play a position that we’re just kind of inventing.”

A reserve guard who started three games in 2023, Sillemon missed spring practice recovering from surgery after suffering an injury late last season. By the time he returned to full health, UNM’s staff had already shaped the offense around other players and were not sure where Sillemon would fit in.

At first, UNM wanted to add him as a backup center. “But the snapping thing just couldn’t catch fire,” offensive coordinator Jason Beck told the Journal two weeks ago. “And if you can’t snap, it really doesn’t matter what you do.”

Adding Sillemon behind guards Baraka Beckett and Richard Pearce seemed like the obvious course. But UNM had been experimenting with Vincent Santos in the rhino spot since spring, and “we never really had a great answer for when Santos would get dinged up,” Beck said.

“So Sillemon was kind of a natural, ‘alright, let’s kinda keep this center thing going, see if it can catch fire,’” he added. “‘Let’s for sure work him at guard and (build) that competition. But let’s also develop him in this rhino thing.’ And so we were dabbling in it and doing it and anyways, he had a great skill set with it.

“So, yeah, we just kind of approached him more, ‘alright, the center thing’s not working out with the snaps. We know what you can do at guard — that’s kind of a proven, we know where that’s at. Let’s go full time in this rhino thing and see where that goes.’”

Sillemon admitted to having mixed feelings when offensive line coach Famika Anae pitched him on it during fall camp.

On one hand, it’d be a near-surefire way to see the field, splitting reps with only Santos.

On the other hand: “In my mind, I’m like, ‘I’m a guard, I wanna be physical,’ you know?” Sillemon said. “But as I started playing it more, I started liking it more. I was like, ‘oh, I can do this.’”

Playing on the interior since the fourth grade, Sillemon was well-conditioned to getting the play at the line of scrimmage — now he had to look for it on the sidelines.

UNM’s season-opening 35-31 loss marked the first time he saw a defense other than the Lobos, and what Sillemon remembered as a tumultuous third quarter ensued: “It was an eye-opener, learning that the margin for error is very slim.”

Per Beck, Santos suffered a “pretty decent” ankle injury against Montana State and was limited for a few weeks, “which just even opened that thing up more and more for Sillemon,” he added.

Since then, Sillemon’s grabbed hold of the role, logging upward of 39 snaps per game and giving UNM an “upper hand” over defenses, quarterback Devon Dampier said.

But, has Sillemon received any carries or targets in goal-line situations?

“He hasn’t gotten one yet,” Dampier laughed. “But eventually coach Beck will cook something up for him.”

“I can’t say,” Sillemon added with a smile. “But, you know, I like to block a lot. So if the opportunity comes, I’ll make the most of it. But I know my job.

“And I really like doing it.”