Mountain West Media Days: Gabe Lopez 'going for broke' in final season with UNM

LAS VEGAS — Look good, feel good, play good?

Judging by his wardrobe decision Wednesday, Gabe Lopez would like to think so.

“(Head coach Jason Eck), I feel like he’s a really fly, classy guy,” the New Mexico defensive lineman said as one of just two players wearing a full three-piece suit at Mountain West Media Days. “And he texted us, he was like, ‘you guys wanna come suited?’ I was like, ‘we’re in Vegas, we (have to) come classy.’ Everyone’s gonna come (in a) polo — we came (in polos) last year.

“I was like, ‘let’s do the suit.’ We’re seniors, we (have to) go out with a bang.”

And perhaps no Lobo would like to go out with a bang more than Lopez. The 6-foot-2, 262-pound, sixth-year senior has pushed through two injury-hampered seasons with the Lobos, missing three games after suffering a concussion four games into last season.

And when he came back?

“I was dead out there,” Lopez admitted. The season wasn’t lost — even with conditioning issues, Lopez felt he still “flashed” down the stretch — but he was far from the same player seen at the start of the year; the type that made him believe a career year could be in store.

This year?

“(I’m) gonna be going for broke, pretty much,” he said.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, Lopez believes this is the best situation he’s had in his time with the Lobos. For starters, UNM has ditched the 3-3-5 base defense of seasons past to largely work out of a four-man front, “which I appreciate,” Lopez chuckled. “ … (It’s) no fun just getting double-teamed (in a three-man front) the whole game.”

His role will be different, too. After primarily playing as an edge rusher the last two seasons, Lopez was moved inside to maximize his athleticism. Instead of trying to power past tackles, he’s now leveraging his speed against guards, stunting and stemming into the type of moving target defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky desires.

In turn, Lopez is up to 262 pounds after playing at 237 last season — the heaviest he’s been “by far” in six seasons of college football.

“I always knew I could play (inside),” he said. “Because even with (former head coach Danny Gonzales) when I first got here, we had a three-down package (where) I was playing (two technique, when a defensive lineman lines up over the guard) at 230. So I knew if I put on some weight that I could take my twitchiness inside and help us.”

And it’s a unit that could use some help. UNM returns just three defensive linemen from last season (Lopez, Okiki Olorunfunmi and Sa’Kylee Woodard), a year in which the Lobos finished near the bottom of the country in run defense (212.92 yards allowed per game) and sacks (11).

But Lopez has liked what he’s seen from the newcomers so far. For example, Texas Southern transfer Brian Booker: “(He’s) a freak. He’s gonna do big things for us. Playing next to him is just great, because he’s an anchor. He could almost do a flip at like (325) pounds. I’ve seen him, from his back, jump to his feet — no hands.”

And Idaho transfer edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby: “His (statistics) speak for (themselves): 10.5 sacks, two against Oregon (last season). He probably could have went anywhere in the country, but he chose to come with Eck. Just having another leader in our room like that, it’s just been great.”

The most important part? There’s simply more depth than there’s been, at least in Lopez’s eyes.

“We were going like three deep (last season). Not like three rotating (in and out) — three men (total),” he laughed.

For now, Lopez is focused on making sure he remains healthy for the entirety of next season. Most days this summer have started with the Las Vegas native heading into the facility around 6 a.m. to rehab and make sure he’s good for summer workouts.

In other words, a professional approach befitting a three-piece suit.

“I graduated. I don’t have no school, I don’t got nothing — I don’t got a job besides football,” he said. “ … It’s a real career at this point in my life. This is my job, and I’m gonna clock out when I’m done.”

Reunited and it feels so good?

Well, maybe not. After all, as a product of the media days schedule, Lopez and offensive lineman Richard Pearce likely won’t be in the same room as their former head coach — Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall — at any point this week.

But even if they were, neither believe there might be an awkward interaction with him.

“No hard feelings for Mendenhall,” Lopez said of the former BYU and Virginia coach who left after one season with the program. “When he left, me and him had a great long talk, we hugged it out. I told him, ‘hey, if that’s best for you — just like all these players are leaving, you should go do what’s best for you.’

“There’s no bad blood or lies. That’s how I feel.”

“It’s going to be really fun because that’s a great coach and a great leader,” Pearce said. “Those guys, they’re going to be very ready, and so are we. It’s going to be a fun game, and it’s going to be really fun getting to see some of my old teammates.”

But Mendenhall’s return to Albuquerque with the Aggies in October still looms large. Have any Utah State players thought about the possible reception the program will get come October?

“You (kind of) know about it,” Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes said. “Because it’s not just coach Mendenhall that came to Utah State. He brought a majority of his staff with him. You already ... know there’s going to be a little bit of beef with it.”