'We have a swing behind our hammer now': UNM football's Danny Gonzales previews preseason practice

It was just past noon Monday when Danny Gonzales opened his fourth season as New Mexico’s head coach by maybe not dwelling on the past — a 7-24 overall record, a 12-game losing streak in conference play, two straight years of offenses ranked at or near the bottom of all college football — but, at the very least, by acknowledging it.

Briefly.

“First three years,” Gonzales deadpanned, “have been miserable.”

Then, he smiled. After all, football season — a new one — is here.

Ahead of the Lobos’ first preseason practice on Thursday night, Gonzales previewed a few positions, points of emphasis and items of interest.

The rundown:

Starting strong

With just under a month before the opener at Texas A&M, a trip to Kyle Field remains the Lobos’ most daunting task. All the chaotic energy of the 12th Man. What should be a retooled, if not dangerous offense, under Bobby Petrino and a stout defense under D.J. Durkin. Gonzales said Texas A&M will be the most talented team they play all year and there really isn’t a close second on the schedule.

There are, however, a couple clear benefits. For starters, it’s a $1.35 million payday from the Aggies on top of the $250,000 UNM already pocketed upon signing the game contract in 2017. $1.6 million is $1.6 million, no matter where it’s coming from.

And it’ll be a good chance to see how strong the Lobos actually are. Gonzales stressed time and time again that that was a clear focus this spring. That it was a clear focus all summer. That he’s felt they haven’t had legitimately strong football teams over the last three seasons — much less one he thinks would have been excited to play the powerhouse Aggies.

A good portion of Monday was dedicated to the idea they finally have, well, just that heading into camp.

“We have a swing behind our hammer now,” he said. “We won’t get bullied, we won’t get pushed around. I mean, we’ve won and we’ve been competitive by being that guy, being the one that doesn’t get knocked off the ball, (where) the line of scrimmage is either a stalemate or it’s going in our direction. We’ll finally have an opportunity to do that.”

Biggest question

UNM’s biggest question entering camp (if not it’s most interesting position battle) per Gonzales? The offensive line — specifically how the guard spots play out.

Back in the spring, left tackle J.C. Davis, left guard Isaiah Sillemon, center C.J. James, right guard Shannco “Ise” Matautia and right tackle Devon Smith were UNM’s starting five. Like what was communicated back then, Smith is expected to be bumped from right tackle with D.J. Wingfield fully healthy after tearing his ACL and MCL in last season’s opener.

Gonzales was complimentary of James’ summer and barring anything unprecedented, it’s hard to imagine he’ll lose the spot in which he started nine of 12 games last season. Davis and Wingfield have his blessing, which leaves the guards.

There’s no doubt Sillemon and Matautia will stay firm in the mix, but Gonzales cited a strong offseason from a “leaned” out Jer’Marques Bailey and heightened competition in the room with the additions of Sam Telesa (Georgetown), Taurrian Stafford (Alabama State) and Travis Gray (Colorado) as a sign there could be a compelling battle for the left and right guard.

“If you’re not good enough up front, on offense or defense, you don’t have a chance anyways,” Gonzales said.

Master plan

At Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas, quarterback Dylan Hopkins said the offense is about 80% installed. On Monday, Gonzales threw out the exact same figure before expressing how pleased he was with how the installation has gone.

How much higher that figure goes is probably a situational deal and might be easier to track on a position-by-position basis. Triple digits isn’t out of reach, but don’t bet on it at this point.

“I don’t know that you ever get 100% of the offense in or 100% of the defense in,” Gonzales said. “But I think (offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent) really likes where we’re at in that aspect of it. Now, once we get into game-planning, you can dial some of those things in. But if you don’t have the base of what you’re trying to do schematically on either side of the ball, then you’re just throwing things at the wall and hoping they stick.”

Injury report

When camp opens on Thursday night, all but one Lobo will be available. Cornerback Hunter Sellers will miss approximately three weeks after undergoing surgery to clean out the area around his meniscus.

As for everybody else? All clear, “which is very untypical,” Gonzales said. Notable spring absentees in linebacker Alec Marenco and safety Tavian Combs will be a “full-go” from the start, albeit with supervision to make sure they don’t reaggravate any lingering injuries too early.

Playing with discipline

Taking out a statistically wonky 2020 campaign, UNM has decreased its total penalty yardage and number of penalties over the last two seasons under Gonzales. He’s aware of the trend but hasn’t forgotten the penalties he could probably count on one hand that cost UNM dearly.

In other words: discipline after the snap will be an emphasis.

“When you’re a 2-10 football team, the ones that happen in crucial moments cost you football games,” he said. “A 2-10 football team that’s in a one-score game in the fourth quarter eight of those 12 games, it’s little things that are beating you … If you’re gonna average 12 points a game and you’re gonna kill yourself with a penalty here and there in a crucial situation on defense, those things are gonna be glaring and they’re gonna stand out.”

Extra points

The heap of dirt with a bulldozer running over it that is usually UNM’s outdoor practice field is, uh, not quite ready for action. Gonzales said the plan is to level the field to remove a gully that ran between both practice fields before installing four goalposts for each end zone. In lieu of that, UNM will start camp rotating daily between their indoor facility (for night practice in particular), University Stadium’s field and a section of UNM women’s soccer’s practice field, courtesy of coach Heather Dyche.

Per Gonzales, UNM will start the first two days of practice with just helmets before three days with “shells” designed for impact reduction. That means the first day of full pads (and presumably live contact) since March is set for Wednesday, August 9. Their last full bore scrimmage is scheduled for August 19.

From the inbox: Aaron Rodriguez was one of 50 punters named to the 2023 Ray Guy Award preseason watch list on Monday. The honor comes after he averaged 44.2 yards per punt (good for 24th in the country) and led the nation in total punts.