Albuquerque Journal

WR McQueen Could Be a Difference-Maker for UNM if He Can Find His Confidence
By Greg Archuleta
Journal Staff Writer

    Jermaine McQueen has been uncomfortable long enough. The University of New Mexico football team has some big holes to fill at the wide receiver position this spring, with the departure of All-Mountain West Conference first-teamers Marcus Smith and Travis Brown.
    McQueen, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., can help address those issues if he can learn to relax.
    "I think he's his own worst enemy," offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin says of McQueen. "He's got physical ability, speed-wise, that no one on this football team has. It's just a confidence factor."
    McQueen showed that ability in a pair of games last season in which he beat a couple of defenders by about 5 yards on deep passes downfield.
    He showed his lack of confidence by dropping both perfectly thrown balls by quarterback Donovan Porterie.
    "Last season in games, I was trying too hard," McQueen says. "When I got into games, things were going really fast. At the same time, I had built all these expectations for myself, like I had something to prove."
    Most inexperienced players tend to think like that, but McQueen had an added burden.
    The Lobos actually had recruited McQueen in 2006, but he ended up not going to school that season.
    His best friend, Henry Sanchez, was killed in Iraq in the summer of 2006, and football was the last thing on McQueen's mind.
    McQueen came back in 2007, dedicating the season to Sanchez. He enrolled at UNM in the fall, but he was far behind in learning Baldwin's scheme and wasn't confident in his knowledge of the playbook.
    It showed on the field. The two long incompletions— that would've gone for touchdowns and amassed about 140 yards— left him with just eight receptions for 44 yards in 2007.
    "The year I took off really affected me, mentally," McQueen says. "I wasn't the same player.
    "That's the difference between then and now. I feel like my old self. The comfort level is extremely different."
    McQueen isn't the only player UNM needs to step up at wide receiver.
    Junior Roland Bruno had a breakout 2007 and figures to get more touches with the departures of Smith and Brown.
    Junior Daryl Jones has shown flashes of excellence— including a spectacular one-handed grab in the otherwise forgettable '06 opener against Portland State— but must become more consistent.
    Baldwin says he's looking for sophomore Chris Hernandez to step up and that incoming sophomore transfer Bryant Williams could be a Brown clone if he learns the offense.
    Porterie says experience has taught him to expect a player or two to come of age.
    "The thing about Marcus and Travis is that after Hank (Baskett) left (in 2005), everyone wondered who was going to be the receiver," Porterie says. "They stepped up and filled those shoes. Now, it's the same thing. Coach Baldwin says he doesn't have a go-to receiver yet, but we have a lot of talent at the receiver position. They'll be up for the challenge."
    McQueen estimates he knows 98 percent of the playbook and will be fully vested by spring's end.
    Baldwin adds that he'll keep throwing to McQueen until the senior is cozy fielding the deep ball.
    "He needs to get in a scrimmage and get one of those touchdowns, and then he'll take off," Baldwin says.
    When that happens, Baldwin, Porterie and the rest of the offense should feel just as comfortable as McQueen will.
    Up Next
    Practices: Monday-Friday, 3-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon Cherry-Silver Game: April 26, 1 p.m., at Santa Fe High