NMSU: Defense is rolling heading into SEC territory at Arkansas.
Pass-rushing and run-stopping abilities have helped unit get off the field quicker
LAS CRUCES — Frank Spaziani insists the New Mexico State football team has only played four games.
While it’s true the Aggies are only a quarter of the way through the season, Spaziani’s defense is only two years removed from allowing a school record 540 points. The Aggies are allowing 26.5 points per game this season and have kept opposing offenses scoreless in eight quarters of play this season.
“You have to have the confidence that you can make a difference,” said Spaziani, who is in his second season as the Aggies defensive coordinator. “It’s a cumulative deal. We have had two full springs, two full preseasons and one whole season. That helps the players, hearing the same things and we have been able to add some things.”
The Aggies have improved across the board, particularly in notable areas such as points per game, rushing yards allowed per game, total yards allowed per game, third down and red zone efficiency, and limiting explosion plays.
“The stats that are the most important to me are wins and points,” Spaziani said. “But once you set a game plan, the first thing you are trying to do is stop the run. And then you have to get to third down. We have been fortunate to be successful.”
The Aggies have already surpassed last year’s sack total of 11 through four games, made possible because of their ability to force passing situations by slowing teams on the ground. NMSU is allowing 4.2 yards per carry on first down running plays this season.
Opponents finished last season rushing for 5.4 yards per
attempt against the Aggies on first down.
“Getting off the field is huge,” said Aggies senior linebacker Dalton Herrington, who leads the Sun Belt Conference in tackles with 10.75 per game. “We are being really aggressive, playing man and we are getting home and getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly and our secondary players are making plays.”
NMSU is third in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing defense, allowing 145 yards per game, which is a nearly-100 yards per game improvement over last season. After allowing 5.34 yards per carry last year, NMSU is allowing 3.84 yards per game on the ground this season.
“First down is huge for us,” Herrington said. “Then we can kind of come at them and open our playbook and kind of force their hands.”
The Aggies are second in the Sun Belt in defensive third down conversions (29 percent) after finishing last in the league last year at 47 percent.
NMSU’s improvements defensively have occurred with essentially the same players as last season.
The Aggies are playing more man defense, which allows Spaziani to put another player close to the line of scrimmage.
But those players still need to go out and execute on Saturdays.
NMSU sophomore cornerback Shamad Lomax was the
Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Week after three interceptions against UTEP last week. Junior DeMarcus Owens has been solid on the other side of field.
“It shows the confidence that Coach Spaziani has in us playing man across the board that we can win our matchups,” Lomax said. “You have to love the pressure that comes with being a corner and you just have to make the plays.”
One of Spaziani’s early jobs was a defensive backs coach and later a defensive coordinator under George Welsh at Virginia. Virginia was 33-121-1 in the ACC before Welsh was hired in 1982. Welsh was 80-48-3 in the ACC at Virginia from 1982-2000.
Outside of his time at Virginia, Spaziani struggled to identify when he had witnessed such a dramatic turnaround as the Aggies defensively through four games.
“It was a different era with stats, but I had never been around a place where it was so extreme to the negative side where it’s almost hard not to improve,” Spaziani said.
ROSE ENJOYING NEW ROLE
Aggies senior running back Larry Rose III has stepped into punt return duties this season.
Having never returned a punt before, Rose has fielded four punts this season for a total of eight yards without a fumble.
Rose replaced Jaden Wright and OJ Clark, who have both missed games with injuries. Although he hasn’t broken free yet, Rose does give the Aggies a dynamic returner that opponents will have to account for.
“It’s something new,” Rose said. “It allows me to show another aspect of my game. I’m going to keep working at it and hopefully by the end of the year, we can get one to the house.”