New-look offense set to debut today
Spring Showcase will give fans a glimpse of Magee’s spread attack
The complete package is not yet installed, and the emphasis will be on the basics.
Nonetheless, today’s UNM football Spring Showcase will afford Lobo fans their first look at new offensive coordinator Calvin Magee’s spread attack. The event is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, the acting head coach while Bob Davie serves a UNM-mandated 30-day suspension, said the team will engage in live contact — tackling to the ground — for at least 40 minutes.
Magee came to UNM after six years as cooffensive coordinator at Arizona, where the Wildcats averaged 35 points per game during his tenure.
His version of the spread is run-friendly and not the pass-crazy spread scheme run by Mike Leach at Washington State. And Davie has said he wants to retain elements of the triple-option scheme the Lobos have run the past six years.
Arizona ranked 100th in passing yardage per game last season, just 22 spots higher than the
Lobos.
But Arizona adjusted its run-pass ratio according to the talent available. In 2014, the Wildcats threw the ball 50 percent of the time.
After Friday’s practice, Magee said about two-thirds of his offense has been installed through 11 spring workouts.
“We jumped in there, because we can always regroup,” he said. “Go back and teach it from the beginning again.
“It looks sloppy sometimes, but that’s very expected.”
Of today’s play list, he said, “It’s gonna be so generic. Our base is our base, so we’ve got to (focus on) those. “It won’t be anything exotic.” Cosgrove said much the same about the defense, though there’s no new scheme to learn. The Lobos will continue to run a 3-35 alignment. It’s unlikely there will be as much blitzing today as Cosgrove would prefer to have if the offensive players belonged to another program.
“We’ve been pretty consistent in what we’ve been doing,” he said.
Neither Cosgrove nor Magee wanted to single out a player or players who have had a particularly good spring.
“We’re looking for improvement in every player we have,” Cosgrove said. “I think you’ll see some guys step up, and I think it will be obvious what guys have the ability to make plays, and maybe some that don’t.”
Fans are asked to park toward the north end of the Stadium West lot and enter the stadium through gate four in the northwest corner. Concessions will be available.
At the end of the session, fans will be allowed on the field to take photos, etc.
Fans who want to attend the Lobo baseball game at Santa Ana Star Field can present their roster cards to the ticket window for free admission to the 2 p.m. game as the Lobos take on Nevada.
INJURY REPORT: Senior quarterback Coltin Gerhart (ankle) and senior outside linebacker Everett Powell (lower leg) will sit out today’s practice.
They’ll join safety Stanley Barnwell (hip), offensive tackle Teton Saltes (knee) and slot receivers Emmanuel Harris (knee) and Elijah Lilly (shoulder) on the sidelines. Those four all are rehabbing after surgery.
Overall, Cosgrove said, “We’ve been blessed. We’ve been healthy.”
THE SCHEDULE: UNM’s 2018 schedule, announced Thursday, features eight teams that went to bowl games last fall. The Lobos’ 12 opponents had a combined 2017 record of 91-64.
Only one team that UNM defeated last year, Air Force, is on the schedule.
Three 2018 foes — Incarnate Word, Wisconsin and Liberty — will be playing UNM for the first time.
The 108th UNM-New Mexico State game is scheduled for Sept. 15 in Las Cruces.
The Lobos lost to the Aggies last fall for the second year in a row en route to a 3-9 season.