Lobo football: Why Dylan Hopkins was held out of practice, a new QB2 and injury updates

Six days into fall camp, there’s an established routine. The things that might’ve been surprising the first couple days, are no longer surprising. What might’ve stood out, doesn’t stand out as much anymore.

It’s the period of camp when head coach Danny Gonzales said they’ll figure out what kind of football team they have; where a departure from routine is worthy of attention.

New Mexico starts every practice with quick-hit plays from the first, second and third teams, in that order. Wednesday was no different. Yet it was: freshman quarterback Devon Dampier took snaps with the ones. Sophomore D.C. Tabscott took snaps with the twos, junior Justin Holaday with the threes.

Then, during individual sessions, Dampier and Tabscott led the way throwing routes on air. Holaday, freshman Aidan Armenta and redshirt junior Isaiah Chavez were right behind them.

See what’s missing? All of this without starter Dylan Hopkins, dressed in full pads, standing close by and watching. And that’s all he did — for the first time in six months as a Lobo, he didn’t take a single snap, make a single handoff or throw a single pass in practice.

Why?

“I’ve shut Dylan down,” Gonzales said after practice Wednesday. “Dylan’s thrown about a 1,000 balls and we know what Dylan can do, so I want to get some of those other guys some reps with the first team and second team.”

The plan now? Hopkins will be held out of practice until Monday for five days of rest, including Sunday’s scheduled off day, before giving him more run next week. Gonzales added he’ll have an additional rest period before New Mexico opens at Texas A&M on Sept. 2.

Far from routine, indeed.

“We haven’t had a starting quarterback around here that’s been established this long into camp,” Gonzales said. “So (it’s) not something we do. But he’s got the second most starts in the league, he’s an established guy, he knows what he’s doing, he knows the offense … like a pitcher, you’ve got to keep a pitch count on some of those guys.

“The other ones, they need to compete to see who’s gonna be the second one.”

From Monday on, it’s officially been Dampier. UNM’s third-stringer since March, Gonzales said he earned the opportunity to move up over the first three days of camp and took the vast majority of reps with the ones on Wednesday.

It is not set in stone. Just because it’s the first change in the depth chart since March doesn’t mean there won’t be another anytime soon, and Gonzales confirmed Tabscott and Holaday will be in the mix.

Nor has it been perfect. Wednesday, Dampier threw a pick during a third down session to safety Jermarius Lewis, who returned it for a touchdown — which drew Gonzales’ ire as Lewis returned to the sideline, more because of the play he didn’t make before the one he did.

(Which is partially by design: “We probably sacked them four, five times in the third down period where I’m not blowing the whistle, because we need to make plays in the secondary,” Gonzales said.)

On Monday, Dampier admitted this spring — and all the adjustments that came with it — was a little rough in hindsight. Camp is different than he expected, too. “The time you dedicate to football during camp, it was a little shocking,” he said.

It’s coming along, though. Truly. By the Journal’s count, he was 6-for-8 passing Wednesday with the ones during what was essentially a 7-on-7 session, a pair of throws over the top to wide receiver Jeremiah Hixon standing out more than anything. Days like that have been the norm more often than not.

And a summer working on the mental side of the game is steadily showing up on the field, too.

Gonzales isn’t grading anybody vying for the backup spot on a curve, but the basis of his assessment has been crystal clear.

“Who’s moving the ball the best (and) how the offense plays the best behind which guy — which voice, which leader,” he said. “So far, it’s been Devin.”

“Realistically, I’m not too worried about where I position myself right now,” Dampier said on Monday. “I’m just trying to really get better at what I can control. That’s what we preach in the quarterbacks room — control what you can control.”

Injury updates: Safety D’Arco Perkins-McAllister has missed every practice since Friday due to a back injury, but Gonzales confirmed he was set to receive an MRI on Wednesday afternoon.

“He’s got some numbness in his leg,” Gonzales said. “He’s got full strength, full motion, but he’s got some tingling on that side. So we need to figure out what it is before we move forward.”

Wide receiver Duece Jones was held out of practice Wednesday after twisting his knee during two minute drills on Tuesday night.

Offensive lineman Travis Gray missed practice as well with a “stinger” on his arm, although Gonzales indicated he’ll likely be back on Thursday.