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UNM football has made scholarship offers to two Cleveland High players
Dorian Lewis, Cleveland High’s dynamic running back, said it has been a dream of his to play football at the University of New Mexico so that he can remain close to his family.
That dream took a considerable step toward becoming true on Tuesday.
Lewis, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior who rushed for 1,547 yards and 25 touchdowns for the 2019 Class 6A state champions in his first season back from a torn right ACL, has received a scholarship offer to play for the Lobos. Cleveland coach Heath Ridenour gave the good news to Lewis, and to teammate Tre Watson, that they both have offers to play at UNM.
That seems to suggest that Danny Gonzales meant it when he said he wanted to recruit New Mexico players as he was introduced as Lobos’ head coach Dec. 18. Ridenour certainly appreciates that. “There’s a buzz around the UNM program,” Ridenour said. “Coach Gonzales is putting together a staff that understands the state of New Mexico. It’s a different place. They are attacking it the right way. It’s pretty awesome. ... I appreciate that they are reaching out to high school coaches, and that Danny is hang
ing his hat on New Mexico kids.”
Lewis, the 2018 New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year, said he would like to make a decision about where he’ll play within the next week, but it’s fair to say that he’s leaning toward the Lobos, who gave him his first NCAA Division I offer. He intends to visit with Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico, both NCAA Division II programs, next week. He’ll also meet with the Lobos on Monday, he said.
“UNM offering is a big change in my plans, so we’ll see what happens,” Lewis said. “Family has always been a major part in all my decisions.”
Lewis and Watson play on the Storm’s basketball team and helped 17-0 Cleveland to the Metro Championships title Saturday.
Watson, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound wide receiver who caught nine touchdown passes as a sophomore, also has D-1 offers from New Mexico State and Columbia. He missed the first seven games of last season with a broken left arm, but he was back in time to contribute to the Storm’s state-title run.
Gonzales said on Friday that he has 22 scholarships to fill for the upcoming season, but that he is aiming toward having 20 signees Feb. 5, the first day of the national letter of intent signing period. UNM did not sign any players during the early period in December.
At least 12 offers from UNM, including one commitment, were posted on Twitter by athletes since Saturday. OJ Bartley, a 6-2, 265-pound defensive lineman from Edison High in Stockton, Calif., posted on Twitter his commitment to the Lobos on Monday. Bartley helped lead Edison to a 9-2 season and showed versatility by playing running back and linebacker.
“It’s been proven that if you evaluate and project (in New Mexico) that kids can be successful here; there’s enough talent in New Mexico,” Gonzales said. “Now, you can’t have your entire roster be New Mexico kids. I didn’t say that. But we’re going to take four or five New Mexico kids and offer them scholarships and recruit four or five every year. We’re not going to hit on all of them. They’re going to be some that don’t pan out, but there are going to be others that no one else recruited that will be really good football players for us.”
Some UNM coaches will be leaving Albuquerque on Thursday to visit with recruits on Friday and through the weekend, Gonzales said. A few coaches will stay in town to host recruits that will be visiting UNM.
Gonzales, who has a Twitter handle (@ CoachGonzUNM), doesn’t mind the exposure on social media. He’s hoping there will be more posts about players committing to UNM in the near future.