July 30 – Luke Wysong looked down at his training shirt and came back with a faint smile, the look of a man reunited with an old friend.
“It’s good to finally have my one-five back,” the redshirt junior wide receiver said after practice Tuesday morning.
Because for the first time under coach Bronco Mendenhall, players like Wysong have jersey numbers. Twenty-six Wolves were chosen by their peers to pick numbers in a ceremony — “definitely the correct word for it,” Wysong said — on Saturday night, bringing together a few who returned with their old, trusted digits and a handful of newly -arrived with new ones.
Mendenhall previously employed this process as head coach at Virginia, where leaders representing all 11 positions chose eligible players for selection numbers on a weekly basis during fall camp. Another number-crunching session for UNM — a process Mendenhall likened to drafting — is expected this weekend.
“Everyone knows how hard we work here,” said Wysong, who chose number 15 — a number he previously wore — during Saturday’s ceremony. “So everyone who was there got to see, you know, coaches coming in (and) talking, players announcing other players, saying some really sentimental, meaningful things.
Not that there wasn’t some anxiety among players wondering if they would get a chance to call his number.
“It was a little stressful, I can’t lie,” said Dodge City (Kansas) Community College winter transfer Bobby Arnold III, who was assigned the No. 0 on Saturday. “Because you don’t know if your (name) is being chosen or not. So you like, you have to trust your teammates, your leaders to see if they chose you and see you (as) one of the contributors to the team.”
The full list of players who will receive jersey numbers, in numerical order:
Rating: Bobby Arnold III (0)
CB Noah Avinger (1)
RB Andrew Henry (2)
David Murphy (3)
QB Devon Dampier (4)
TE Trace Bruckler (5)
RB Eli Sanders (6)
DL Tyler Kiehne (7)
Christian Ellis (8)
BY Gabriel Lopez (9)
P Aaron Rodriguez (10)
LB Mihalis Santorineos (11)
CB Bryson Taylor (13)
Shawn Miller (14)
WR Luke Wysong (15)
BY Okiki Olorunfunmi (17)
TE Magnus Geers (19)
S Derek Moore (20)
Javen Jacobs (21)
LB Dimitri Johnson (22)
RB Josh Perry (23)
DL Kyler Drake (45)
OL Baraka Beckett (56)
OL McKenzie Agnello (66)
WR Nic Trujillo (81)
DE Moso Tuitele (89)
Tuesday training
Approximately 20 minutes of Tuesday’s 30-minute media viewing period were devoted to “non-contact” (there is always some degree of contact) fighting games without helmets. There weren’t even any official stats from the session — and no live pass rush to deal with — but there were some sharp reps from quarterback Devon Dampier, albeit with an interception for cornerback Noah Avinger.
“That’s number 2!” defensive end Gabe Lopez yelled from the sideline immediately after Avinger’s pick. “That’s number 2!” Is it safe to assume there was something the media didn’t see?
And while personnel changes make it difficult to glean meaningful insights, Tuesday was another example of how strong the chemistry between Dampier and Wysong seemed during the first week of camp. UNM’s second-year quarterback consistently hit Wysong over the middle and down the sideline – including a fabulous turnover to Wysong’s ball that may have been just a step out of bounds – for a series of plays that speak to a connection that has grown.” tremendously” Over the last year.
“Dev has matured a lot in the pocket,” Wysong added. “He’s learning every day, he takes the boardroom to the practice field, which is good — which is what you need from a quarterback. other QBs don’t.
“And I think he brings a lot of things to the table that defenses need to really game plan for.”
Two nickels
As the team did in the spring, UNM has run a lot of nickel schemes (five quarterbacks) and so far, Arnold and Cam Watts, a spring transfer from Texas Tech, have been the two players splitting reps as the fifth quarterback. Originally recruited as a cornerback, Watts said he came to UNM recovering from a tibia and fibula injury and was moved to nickel about three weeks into the summer session, but brings a lot of experience after playing a similar role for the Red Raiders.
“I love the competition, I love competing – I love the camaraderie between me and him… regardless of who takes the field, I think the deal will be resolved,” Watts added after Saturday’s training.
Arnold also said the defense has been working on dime-a-dozen packages (six defenders), bringing in David Murphy as the sixth defender.
News and notes
ON HOLADAY: Through four viewing sessions, I don’t believe I saw quarterback Justin Holaday take a snap at center. Instead, the three-game 2022 starter has been working hard on special teams and was seen on Tuesday split and working — set or on the move — out of the offensive zone.
Mendenhall has previously avoided titles and referred to certain athletes with undefined roles or broad skill sets as “football players.” Until there’s a little more clarity on Holaday’s role – at least to match what’s been seen in practice – I’m inclined to classify him as such for now.
INSTANT IMPACT: One newcomer who is quickly making a name for himself is Pitt transfer Jahvante Royal, who is logging reps as the starting cornerback.
“Jahvante man, (he’s) showing off,” Arnold said. “The big 6-foot-2 guy, he can’t get around that — he can’t teach height. And he’s really fast, too — people won’t know he’s that fast. 4.2 guy (40-meter dash time ) too, so knowing he’s so fast, so big, it’s good to have him at that limit because people just can’t run around him – because he’s so big.”
INJURY REPORT: Wide receiver Caleb Medford made his debut in a turquoise jersey (meaning no contact, limited or injured) on Saturday, and remained in one on Tuesday. Its specific designation is unclear.
