Lobos’ Erickson at top of his game
Dean’s List student also key receiver
Andrew Erickson is a rare breed.
It’s not just because he is in his fourth year with the University of New Mexico football team, but played his first season on the field last year. He’s special when it comes to his academics.
Erickson, the Lobos’ top returning wide receiver from Manzano High, was recently named to the Dean’s List in the UNM School of Engineering. He achieved at least a 3.5 grade-point average on a minimum of 15 credit hours, while also training with the Lobos during the spring semester.
“I had to focus on managing my time well,” said Erickson, a redshirt sophomore who is considered a leader among the UNM receivers. “The spring is a little easier because it’s not as in full swing with football as it is in the fall.”
Erickson, who led UNM with 264 yards and two touchdowns on 17 catches in its 2-5 season in 2020, said he manages his time on two calendars and sets several reminders and alarms on his phone to help complete assignments on time.
“I have great classmates and the coaches help me out and allow me the time and space to get it all done,” Erickson said. “It’s a full team effort. Everyone comes together and helps me. It’s definitely a difficult major with football, but I enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun.
Erickson is set to graduate in the spring. He said some of the fun he experiences is in his Race Car Design class, a three-semester program that began in the spring. His team will begin building the car next semester and then test it for competition the following semester. The group constructs a small Formula One car to race against other cars from various universities.
“Andrew is an example of
what we want our guys to be like,” UNM coach Danny Gonzales said. “He does everything in his life to the full capacity that he can. That’s why he’s on the Dean’s List. For a football player to be on the Dean’s List in the engineering school, that’s impressive. Really impressive.”
Gonzales refers to Erickson as the Lobos’ best receiver last season.
“We would throw the ball to him and he would go up and get it,” Gonzales said. “It didn’t matter the situation.”
Erickson plans to be reliable again this season. Erickson, his younger brother, Austin, and the rest of the receivers are preparing to have expanded roles in the offense as the Lobos, with newly named starter Terry Wilson, are expected to throw the ball more than they did last year.
“I’m ready for whatever role they give me,” he said “I just want to go play football.”
OFFERS: Two prep football standouts who have family connections to UNM recently announced they have received scholarship offers to play for the Lobos.
Evan Wysong, a quarterback for Cleveland High, said on Twitter that he received his first Division I offer from UNM last week. Wysong’s father, Adam, and uncles Ben and Daniel played for UNM, and his mother, Beth, was a volleyball player for the Lobos.
Wysong’s older brother Luke is a freshman wide receiver on the Lobos and is having a stellar preseason camp.
Evan Wysong, 5-foot-10, 155 pounds, is also capable of playing wide receiver and defensive back.
Jackson St. Aubyn, a 6-foot5, 263-pound offensive lineman who will be a junior at Palmer Ridge High in Monument, Colorado, also received his first offer from the Lobos, he said on Twitter.
St. Aubyn’s father, Jared, played as an offensive lineman at UNM 1997-99 and was a Lobo teammate of Gonzales.
FAN EVENT: UNM is inviting fans for a free event to close out preseason camp Saturday, with entry into University Stadium starting at 3:30 p.m. Practice starts at 4 p.m. A movie will be shown at 6 p.m., and fans will be permitted onto the field. Free popcorn will be available to fans after practice.