White came to UNM as a walk-on wide receiver in 2012, but didn’t have the speed to play wide out at the Division I level. The coaches moved White to safety, but he never actually took any reps at the position because the team still needed him at wide receiver for the scout team.
“I came in a wide receiver and didn’t really fit well,” White said. “I did some scout wide receiver kind of stuff, so they moved me to safety for a short period of time. I wasn’t quite as fast as everybody else.”
After talking to former tight-ends coach Derek Warehime, White said he decided to make the move to tight end in the spring of 2013. White, a Rio Rancho native, has been a mainstay at tight end for UNM ever since, and he earned a scholarship later that year.
“When I came, that was always one of my goals: I wanted to work and earn a scholarship,” White said. “I didn’t know what position I was going to play at the time. I fit into the tight end position and kept working, and after that I got a scholarship.”
Head coach Bob Davie said former players always seem to bring up White when watching tape of the Lobos.
“He’s a guy who jumps out at you on tape, and because of that he’s a leader,” Davie said. “The combination of his personality — he’s just a treasure. A guy like that in our program has been unbelievable.”
White’s primary contribution to UNM’s offense has been as a blocking tight end. However, he hopes that his upcoming season will be the one in which the Lobos achieve a more balanced offense. For his career, White has caught just 12 balls for 224 yards and two scores.
“Throwing the ball is something that we’re trying to evolve into,” he said. “We’re trying to open it up a little bit and be a little more two-dimensional.”
Spring Showcase
UNM will host a “Spring Showcase” tonight to give fans a glimpse of the team for the upcoming 2015 season. The event is free and will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at University Stadium.
Davie said one of the reasons the Lobos are hosting the event is to help identify a punt returner. UNM has consistently been one of the worst punt return teams in the nation the past three years. Senior wide receiver Carlos Wiggins will be among the players to get a chance to return punts.
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“We’re going to continue to identify a punt returner, so we’re going to get five full-speed punt returns,” Davie said. “We’ve been so poor on punt returns, for us it’s worth the investment of going out and seeing it.”
UNM will then work on passing drills with wide receivers and defensive backs going one-on-one. The Lobos will do 7-on-7 drills as well.
Davie said he doesn’t plan on scrimmaging much on Friday because he doesn’t want to risk any injuries to the team.
The Lobos will finish the practice with field goals. Davie said there is some real competition between sophomore Jason Sanders and redshirt senior Zack Rogers for the field goal kicker spot.
Gamblin MIP
Davie said junior wide receiver Dameon Gamblin has shown great improvement this spring.
Gamblin has shown flashes of his potential by making numerous plays in practice. The wide out has also made the move from outside receiver to slot receiver.
“We’ve moved him into the slot, which gives him a lot more opportunities to make plays,” Davie said. “The most improved player of our spring, Dameon Gamblin, is definitely in the conversation.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at
sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter@ThomasRomeroS.
