Offensive lineman Saltes a leader on, off the field
Lobos face Fresno State on Saturday in season finale
In 2006, then-University of New Mexico football coach Rocky Long memorably predicted that Danny Gonzales would one day become head coach of the Lobos.
Fourteen years later, Gonzales paid it forward. When talking about standout offensive lineman Teton Saltes, the first-year Lobos coach said his senior leader is going to be New Mexico’s governor some day.
“I can’t wait,” Gonzales said. “Great young man, great leader, great voice. Does everything right, does everything the way you want him to. Leads by example.”
Saltes was named a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, a national award given to the top college player who best exemplifies community service, academics and athletic achievement. Saltes said Tuesday he’s approaching Saturday’s game against Fresno State as if it’s his last.
As a senior who attended the same high school Gonzales did (Valley), he is able to return next season and play one last year after the NCAA ruled this fall that all seniors would get another year of eligibility after the coronavirus pandemic made such a mess of 2020.
“Pretty certain at this point,” Saltes said. “Of course, I would love to come back and, again, I’m going to talk to coach G more about that but right now, I think it’s just time for me to move on and pursue bigger things right now.”
As for ascending to the highest elected office in New Mexico, he’s game.
“Who knows, but if I were governor, I would definitely let them play football,” he joked.
Having made an appearance before
elected officials at the Legislature, Saltes has gotten a taste of public service and likes what he sees. He said he wouldn’t rule out an eventual run for an elected office, whether at the state or national level.
“I would love to go down that path. I’m a big politics guy,” Saltes said, referencing some of the lobbying he has done on behalf of college athletes’ needs for mental health. “Plenty of time for that, so we’ll see whenever it comes time.”
If there’s anything that puts a smile on Gonzales’ face, it’s a local athlete who busts his tail for the greater good, both on and off the field. Saltes checks all those boxes.
One of the things Gonzales demanded of Saltes when he first arrived was assuming the role of leader. To do that, Gonzales wanted him to correct his peers and keep people in line — but only after he earned the credibility of his peers by doing all those things himself first.
“He took onto that right away and has just been an unbelievable leader for our football team,” Gonzales said. “And the last two weeks the way he’s played, he’s just been a monster out there.”
In many ways, Saltes had an inverted road to success on the field. His freshman year, the Lobos won nine games and tied for the division championship in the Mountain West. The team has gone into a steady and painful tailspin ever since.
The Lobos owned the nation’s longest losing streak until Saturday’s upset of Wyoming. Barring a win over Fresno State, they’ll finish 1-6 and return a young team that will need proven leaders moving forward.
Saltes remains committed to lending much of that support from a distance. He said he’ll help the recruiting process and be a loyal fan, but his playing days are basically over.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “I know a lot of people say that, but it really does [feel that way].”
NOTES
Sharing space: Sam Boyd Stadium is now the home of two Mountain West teams not named UNLV. San Jose State has moved its home finale against Nevada to Las Vegas due to health restrictions in the Bay Area and all of California.
The game will be aired nationally on CBS Sports Network and for anyone watching at home, it’ll look a lot like a Lobos game. The end zones will still have UNM’s wordmarks painted in them, and the banners along the grandstand at field level will be UNM’s.
If San Jose State wins and Boise State loses its finale at Wyoming on Saturday, SJSU would return to Sam Boyd the following week to host the Mountain West championship game. By then the Lobos will be long gone.
A school official said Tuesday that the team will return to Albuquerque on Sunday morning and by Monday all the UNM signage would be removed. The painted letters in the end zones will be scrubbed clean by UNLV’s grounds crew.
Infirmary: The quarterback situation remains an utter mess.
Fifth-stringer Isaiah Chavez, the hero of last week’s win over Wyoming, will start Saturday and running back Bryson Carroll will serve as backup.
Starter Tevaka Tuioti hasn’t practiced since suffering a concussion last month, and No. 2 quarterback Trae Hall still hasn’t been cleared after injuring his ribs against Utah State. Thirdstringer Brandt Hughes is out for the season with a shoulder injury and last week’s starter, redshirt freshman Connor Genal, fractured his non-throwing left wrist in the first half against Wyoming.
Genal returned home last weekend to undergo surgery on that wrist, leaving Chavez as the only able-bodied QB left. Carroll has about five to 10 plays called up just for him. If he and Chavez gets hurt, Gonzales joked that Long may take over.
A former star QB in his UNM playing days 50 years ago, Long still has the chin scars to prove his toughness — scars he got from dozens of helmet-first shots he took on the option pitch.