It takes time to instill a physical mentality. It’s something New Mexico’s defensive coordinator has been working on.
Kevin Cosgrove, who is in his second year at his position, said one of his goals was to get the Lobos to play a more physical style of football. So far, the team has shown a more aggressive attitude with Cosgrove at the helm.
“I think we have been more aggressive; I don’t think there’s any question in that. That’s a big part of playing defense, but it’s also about taking care of your assignment and doing your job,” Cosgrove said. “We’ve been tackling a lot this camp - more than we ever have since we’ve been here. It has to pay dividends, because we were giving up too many big plays in tackling last year.”
The key question mark that surrounds the defense is tackling. In the course of head coach Bob Davie’s first three years, the Lobos missed numerous tackles that led to big plays for opposing offenses.
With a deeper roster than he has had in past years, Davie decided to increase full-contact drills to better prepare the Lobos for the season. UNM held three full-contact scrimmages this fall camp, which is more than they’ve held in years.
“I think opportunities to tackle live are so important,” Cosgrove said. “Sometimes you get away from it because you’re afraid of injury, but coach Davie has put a big emphasis on it, on making sure we have enough live tackling out there in practice.”
There’s not much time left to make adjustments for the Lobos, who are fewer than 10 days from their season-opener against Mississippi Valley State.
Cosgrove said he wants the defense to be sharper in preparation for the opener.
“I like our progress. The attitude has been outstanding,” he said. “We still have some things that we have to get better at. We have to continue to be excellent in our assignment, and I need to have more exactness in that.”
Position changes
Chris Lewis, a junior transfer from Riverside Community College, has made the change from defensive lineman to offensive lineman. He joins Jack Ziltz, who is also making the switch from d-line to o-line.
Redshirt sophomore Markel Byrd has also changed from safety to cornerback.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Offensive line
With the loss of sophomore center Toye Adewon for the foreseeable future, the offensive line is starting to seem confused.
Davie said the line still needs work, but he’s confident that they will be a cohesive unit by the end of the year.
“To say it’s a work in progress is an understatement,” Davie said. “It’s a big challenge, but it’s also a big opportunity.”
Senior guard Eden Mahina would start at center if the season began today, Davie said. Junior guard Tevita Fonua, a junior college transfer, has been taking snaps at center.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
