August 4, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Since joining the MWC, UNM has had its share of top players
By Greg Archuleta, Journal Staff WriterTo help commemorate the University of New Mexico athletic program's 10th year as a member of the Mountain West Conference, I have put together my list of the Lobo football all-time team from 1999 to present day.
I have also included some extra categories for your amusement. Some of my choices were easy to make. Others, I waffled more than an Eggo, and I could very well have a different answer next week.
Without further ado, here's my all-time Lobo football team as a member of the MWC (with some comment about my thought-process).
Offense
Quarterback: Casey Kelly (1999-2003). He holds the school record for most wins as a starter, but current QB Donovan Porterie has a shot to surpass him. Had Kole McKamey stayed healthy, he could've been a contender.
Tailback: DonTrell Moore (2001-05). No-brainer. Moore had four 1,000-yard seasons. Had Quincy Wright stayed healthy in 2002 (he had 483 rushing yards in three games before tearing and ACL in week four that handed the starting job to Moore), he could've entered the discussion and brought current tailback Rodney Ferguson with him because Moore would've stayed a role player his redshirt freshman season.
Fullback: Jarrod Baxter (1997-2001). He ran and blocked effectively, which gives him a leg up on Matt Quillen, whom coach Rocky Long says is the best blocking fullback he's ever had.
Wide receiver: Hank Baskett (2001-05), Travis Brown (2004-07). Whoa! First controversy. What about Marcus Smith, you might ask? Well, Smith had the better senior season, but Brown had the better career. Dwight Counter deserves a mention, but his stats suffered because he played in an era in which the Lobo passing attack was inconsistent at best.
Tight end: Bryan Penley (2000-03). He was UNM's most reliable at the position, although no TE really has offensive stats to boast. Injuries prevented John Mulchrone from the top spot.
Offensive line: Ryan Cook (2001-05), Jason Lenzmeier (1999-2003), Jeremy Sorenson (2000-01), Claude Terrell (2000-04), Robert Turner (2002-06). Obviously, Sorenson is going to surprise some people, especially when guys like Devin Clark and Vince Natali were all-conference and he wasn't, but Sorenson was the original hitman under former line coach Bob Bostad — the first with the physical capacity Bostad sought. Sorenson served as the example for Lenz, Claude and the linemen after him. Justin Colburn, perhaps the toughest Lobo lineman despite not winning any all-MWC honors, deserves mention.
Kicker: Kenny Byrd (2002-06). John Sullivan had a great 2007 season; Byrd had a great career, especially considering his beginning as a soccer player pressed into service his true freshman season, in which he missed a PAT against Utah State in OT in 2002 that cost UNM the game. In fact, I'd probably take Vladimir Borombozin before Sullivan, as well. Wes Zunker is in the conversation.
Defense
Defensive end: Brian Johnson (1998-2002), D.J. Renteria (1999-2003). Again, several good candidates, including Michael Tuohy, Tyler Donaldson, Evroy Thompson, Daniel Kegler and Zach Rupp, but Johnson and Renteria were the most consistent throughout their careers.
Nose tackle: Marcus Parker (2001-05). A broken hand kept him from capping his career with a great senior season, but he was awesome as a junior. Hebrews Josue also was a solid NT.
Outside linebacker: Quincy Black (2004-06), Nick Speegle (2000-04). OK, I'm cheating a little here because Black's best work was at the lobo back position his senior year, and ain't no one ever going to beat Brian Urlacher out at a position. UNM's had so many great outside linebackers — Casey Tisdale, Billy Strother, Fola Fashola. Speegle did have size, but it was his work ethic and heart that pushes him to the top of this list.
Middle linebacker: Gary Davis (2000-01) Davis was ripped off by the MWC media in 2001 because he should've been the conference's defensive player of the year. Charles Moss, Mohammed Konte and Mike Mohoric also were solid MLBs.
Lobo back: Brian Urlacher (1996-99). So, he played only one season in the MWC ... who cares? He had 154 tackles and was All-America. The current crop of Ian Clark and Clint McPeek are as strong as any lobo back not named Urlacher or Black, and they combined for 129 tackles last season, only 15 more than Black had as a senior.
Safety: Brandon Ratcliff (1999-2003), Scott Gerhardt (1998-2002). Ratcliff was just a tremendous athlete. He'd infuriate Lobo coaches by doing the wrong assignment, but somehow he would still end up making the play. Gerhardt was a skinny kid who just worked and worked to transform himself into a player. He barely gets the nod over another unsung hero, OJ Swift.
Cornerback: Stephen Persley (1992-2002), Gabriel Fulbright (2001-05). Persley is the best pure corner Long's had in the program. Fulbright's play was similar to that of Ratcliff; a gifted, fearless athlete who made plays.
Punter: Jordan Scott (2003-07). He led the conference in net punting his senior year, and unlike his predecessor Tyler Gaus, Scott improved over the course of his time at UNM.
bonus categories
Best game: UNM 27, Texas Tech 24 (2004). So many great victories — UNM 45, Missouri 35 (2005), UNM 47. No .24 Utah 35 (2003), UNM 29, Air Force 23 (2000), UNM 23, San Jose State 0 in the 2007 New Mexico Bowl, but that game on 9-11, 2004 at University Stadium, erased memories of a 49-0 loss to Tech at home in 2002. That puts it slightly ahead of UNM's 20-16 win at BYU in 2002 because the Lobos nearly had upset the Cougars the year before.
Worst game: UTEP 21, UNM 13 (2005). Another excruciatingly tough choice. The 37-35 loss to UNLV in 2003 cost UNM a MWC championship. The aforementioned Texas Tech blowout in 2002 was on ESPN. The 2003 Las Vegas Bowl, Oregon State 55, UNM 14, was ugly, the 17-6 loss to Division I-AA Portland State equally galling. And don't forget San Diego State's 17-16 win over UNM (2000), in which the Lobos had held SDSU to minus-31 yards in the first half and led 16-0 at intermission. The UTEP loss, however, ruined UNM for the season and nullified the seven years Long's program had toiled to build up a fan base. The Lobos still have not fully recovered from a fan-base standpoint after the letdown of that 2005 season.
Best individual performance: Justin Millea's 148-yards rushing, one TD, in place of injured starter Casey Kelly in UNM's 25-16 win at UNLV (2002). The obvious choices are DonTrell Moore's 243 yards and three TDs against Colorado State (2003), Hank Baskett's 10 receptions, 209 yards and three TDs against Missouri (2005), Quincy Wright's 213 yards rushing and receiving against Air Force (2002) and Katie Hnida's two historic extra points against Texas State (2003). But UNM was coming off the 49-0 loss to Texas Tech and had to travel to Vegas —not only without injured starter Kelly, but without backup Kole McKamey, who had been suspended during UNM's bye week. That left Millea, a converted safety, who engineered one of the most unlikely victories in school history.
Worst individual performance: S Terrell Golden yelling at a previously disinterested Oregon State team (that had QB Derek Anderson and RB Steven Jackson), "Ya''ll don't respect us!" and then dropping the mic on the stage during a pep rally on the eve of the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl.
Most improvement over a career: Marcus Smith (2003-07). He came to UNM as a timid running back who handed adversity horribly. He turned himself into a fourth-round NFL draft choice. Other nominees are safeties Scott Gerhardt and Josh Bazinet.
Biggest bust: QB Stoney Case as the guest speaker at the 1999 Lobo football banquet. His speech, which was going into the better half of hour two (when I left), detailed almost every minute detail of the rise and fall of his brief NFL career.