August 1 — An item from the landmark House v. Last week’s NCAA campaign drew more attention from coaches and administrators than perhaps any other: Starting in 2025, FBS programs can fund up to 105 full scholarships — 20 more than the previous limit of 85.
“It was actually something that was on my mind,” UNM football coach Bronco Mendenhall said after Thursday’s practice. “It has to be, because lineups and players really determine success. There are great coaches and many coaches who are pretty much the same.
“And really one or two players, or one or two additions to the squad can make a difference.”
With 20 extra scholarships owed to each Autonomous Four program (Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC) and Notre Dame, Mendenhall said it “wouldn’t be hard” to see those additional 1,260 scholarships at the expense of Group of Five programs.
“It will be interesting to see if this increases the number of A4 transfers to Group of Five schools – no one knows that yet,” he added. “And then for UNM, 20 more actors with potential help – what does that look like? Where do they come from?
“And what does this financing look like, right? For Mountain West schools, this is all part (of what) needs to be considered.”
The cap also poses an existential threat to a classification of players near and dear to Mendenhall’s heart: the walk-ons. If every player could get a scholarship, could visitors become a casualty of college football’s new era?
“It’s hard to understand this because my passion is youth development,” he said. “And many of the hardest workers and the best young people – who went on to do more – didn’t get help. They did more with less to qualify for a scholarship and then became…so, in some way, shape or form Anyway, I have to resolve this.
“And it’s a work in progress.”
Thursday training
Just one gray shirt – meaning “no contact” – on Thursday: Devon Dampier. All other quarterbacks wore red shirts, signifying “normal contact” status after UNM switched to full pads on Wednesday.
Also noted in a media viewing window consisting of warm-ups, stretches and drills: Kicker Luke Drzewiecki had 4 more days out of 4 during quick kick drills. If the redshirt junior is currently in line to start, Modesto (Calif.) Junior College transfer Adrian Melesio (2 of 4 during the same session) appears to be his backup.
News and notes
Injury Report: After being scouted in a turquoise jersey (signifying an injured, limited or non-contact player) on Tuesday, wide receiver Caleb Medford was back in red and was a full participant during Thursday’s practice . The rest of the players seen in turquoise: — S Tavian Combs — LB Dimitri Johnson — LB Mihalis Santorineos — LB Tirek Austin-Cave — LB Colby Brewer — DL Tyler Kiehne — WR Mateo Contreras — CB Drew Speech — CB Ishmael Az-Zahir — S Victor Villafuerte – S Noa Pola-Gates – OL Malik Aliane
Nickel: The players behind Bobby Arnold III and Cam Watts at nickel? According to Mendenhall, they are Hunter Wiggins and Noa Pola Gates. “This is a very deep room,” she added. “I really like the competition there.”
Scrimmage schedule: UNM will hold its first assigned scrimmage this Saturday, Mendenhall said, and its second and final scrimmage a week later. Both will be closed to the public.
