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Mar. 13—It was hot, a late August sun beating down over University Stadium and gusts blew clouds across the sky, wrappers on the field.
As far as first impressions go, that was more or less all Scottre Humphrey remembered.
"It was just another game. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking about it too much," New Mexico's 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back said after practice Thursday morning, "because I (was) just in my football mode."
What that mode looked like on Aug. 26: Eleven carries for 140 yards and one touchdown, barreling into the end zone with 10 seconds left to seal Montana State's 35-31 comeback win over UNM. The Bobcats' near-dream season was off to the races and so was Humphrey, ending his sophomore year with 1,386 yards (fifth in FCS) and 16 touchdowns (seventh) on the most prolific offense in the country (40.8 points per game).
Then he entered the portal. A player that held just two FCS offers out of high school was suddenly being courted by Bill Belichick and North Carolina; Virginia Tech and West Virginia had interest; and Boise State, faced with life after Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty, gave him a look. By January, Humphrey was 24/7 Sports' highest-rated remaining running back in the portal, a slugger in search of a club.
Now he's with UNM, the same team he gashed last August.
Why?
"I was really looking at, who can I trust as a coach — you know what I'm saying?" Humphrey said. UNM head coach Jason Eck, running backs coach John Johnson and offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner "really showed me I can trust them. And they believed in me, so I believed in them.
"So it was a really easy choice for me."
For the Lobos' most celebrated transfer in years, the first week of spring practice has been about issuing a proper reintroduction to University Stadium. Given his skill set, perhaps Humphrey's has been delayed — after all, UNM doesn't don full pads until Friday.
But there's been glimmers of the bruising power and burst that made him what Eck considered the best back he saw over three years coaching in the Big Sky.
Tuesday, Humphrey bounced a run into the boundary and ripped down the sideline during a team period, a play cementing him as one of spring's (very) early standouts.
Thursday, Humphrey found the edge, shifted and powered ahead for a 10-yard gain before a defender bounced off him — remember, no full pads — to signify a tackle that would have ended the play.
Or would it have? You can't break a tackle that isn't being made.
"(He's) a big, strong back — coming from Montana State, that's their brand of ball," said linebacker Jaxton Eck, Jason's son and a veteran of a few matchups against Humphrey. "He's just physical. Tough to bring down — you can't arm tackle."
"He's just a very natural runner, sees things well, can make bursts and make cuts," Jason Eck said Monday.
Not that he's the only one. Along with Humphrey, UNM brought in transfers Deshaun Buchanan (Idaho), Damon Bankston (Weber State) and D.J. McKinney (Sam Houston State). Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters is the lone returner who played last season. Takeshi Faupula, a Butte (Calif.) College transfer, has flashed over the first two days.
Beyond the competition in the running backs room, the offensive line is sorting itself out after losing four of five starters, too. UNM isn't starting from scratch, but sometimes it feels like it is.
As far as first impressions go, it's made one that's landed with Humphrey.
"It's refreshing to see how hard they work," he said. "(It) makes me want to work hard. I'm seeing all my running backs do their assignment correctly.
"In this short of time, it's impressive to see."
QB Layne held out
Quarterback Jack Layne — UNM's presumed starter — did not practice Thursday with a sore right arm. Eck said he thought it was due to overuse on and around the first day of practice: "(Layne) gets excited sometimes, likes to do a lot of (extra) stuff on his own and probably was pushing a little too much," he added. "So we just thought we'd be smart with it."
The plan, Eck said, is to sit Layne for Friday's practice, giving him an extra few days to recover before the team takes next week off for spring break.
"It's something we got to monitor and everything," Eck said. "(There's) no structural concerns or anything torn, just overuse."
In Layne's absence, James Laubstein took reps with the first team on a quieter day for the offense. Two practices probably isn't enough to get a proper gauge on the quarterbacks, but it feels like there's an early gap between Layne and Laubstein and the rest of the room.
"James has been the one probably who's impressed me the most of the returning quarterbacks," Eck said. "He's doing a really good job ... But we keep getting better and really, that's kind of the blessing in disguise of Jack being out — it gives us more opportunities to evaluate the other guys who we haven't seen as much."
Committed
Games are not won or lost in spring practice.
Recruitments are, though — and UNM landed a pretty nice win Thursday.
Cleveland High School tight end Elijah Richards committed to the Lobos via a post on social media, marking the biggest in-state commit in Eck's three months with the program.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior chose UNM over offers from in-state rival New Mexico State and Northern Arizona after visiting last weekend and during Thursday's practice. He is the fourth in-state prospect to commit to the Lobos since Eck was hired; defensive lineman Carlos Barela (La Cueva), linebacker Thomas Pettus (Volcano Vista) and wide receiver Mikey Beck (Farmington) all signed on or ahead of national signing day in February.
Continue reading...
As far as first impressions go, that was more or less all Scottre Humphrey remembered.
"It was just another game. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking about it too much," New Mexico's 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back said after practice Thursday morning, "because I (was) just in my football mode."
What that mode looked like on Aug. 26: Eleven carries for 140 yards and one touchdown, barreling into the end zone with 10 seconds left to seal Montana State's 35-31 comeback win over UNM. The Bobcats' near-dream season was off to the races and so was Humphrey, ending his sophomore year with 1,386 yards (fifth in FCS) and 16 touchdowns (seventh) on the most prolific offense in the country (40.8 points per game).
Then he entered the portal. A player that held just two FCS offers out of high school was suddenly being courted by Bill Belichick and North Carolina; Virginia Tech and West Virginia had interest; and Boise State, faced with life after Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty, gave him a look. By January, Humphrey was 24/7 Sports' highest-rated remaining running back in the portal, a slugger in search of a club.
Now he's with UNM, the same team he gashed last August.
Why?
"I was really looking at, who can I trust as a coach — you know what I'm saying?" Humphrey said. UNM head coach Jason Eck, running backs coach John Johnson and offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner "really showed me I can trust them. And they believed in me, so I believed in them.
"So it was a really easy choice for me."
For the Lobos' most celebrated transfer in years, the first week of spring practice has been about issuing a proper reintroduction to University Stadium. Given his skill set, perhaps Humphrey's has been delayed — after all, UNM doesn't don full pads until Friday.
But there's been glimmers of the bruising power and burst that made him what Eck considered the best back he saw over three years coaching in the Big Sky.
Tuesday, Humphrey bounced a run into the boundary and ripped down the sideline during a team period, a play cementing him as one of spring's (very) early standouts.
Thursday, Humphrey found the edge, shifted and powered ahead for a 10-yard gain before a defender bounced off him — remember, no full pads — to signify a tackle that would have ended the play.
Or would it have? You can't break a tackle that isn't being made.
"(He's) a big, strong back — coming from Montana State, that's their brand of ball," said linebacker Jaxton Eck, Jason's son and a veteran of a few matchups against Humphrey. "He's just physical. Tough to bring down — you can't arm tackle."
"He's just a very natural runner, sees things well, can make bursts and make cuts," Jason Eck said Monday.
Not that he's the only one. Along with Humphrey, UNM brought in transfers Deshaun Buchanan (Idaho), Damon Bankston (Weber State) and D.J. McKinney (Sam Houston State). Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters is the lone returner who played last season. Takeshi Faupula, a Butte (Calif.) College transfer, has flashed over the first two days.
Beyond the competition in the running backs room, the offensive line is sorting itself out after losing four of five starters, too. UNM isn't starting from scratch, but sometimes it feels like it is.
As far as first impressions go, it's made one that's landed with Humphrey.
"It's refreshing to see how hard they work," he said. "(It) makes me want to work hard. I'm seeing all my running backs do their assignment correctly.
"In this short of time, it's impressive to see."
QB Layne held out
Quarterback Jack Layne — UNM's presumed starter — did not practice Thursday with a sore right arm. Eck said he thought it was due to overuse on and around the first day of practice: "(Layne) gets excited sometimes, likes to do a lot of (extra) stuff on his own and probably was pushing a little too much," he added. "So we just thought we'd be smart with it."
The plan, Eck said, is to sit Layne for Friday's practice, giving him an extra few days to recover before the team takes next week off for spring break.
"It's something we got to monitor and everything," Eck said. "(There's) no structural concerns or anything torn, just overuse."
In Layne's absence, James Laubstein took reps with the first team on a quieter day for the offense. Two practices probably isn't enough to get a proper gauge on the quarterbacks, but it feels like there's an early gap between Layne and Laubstein and the rest of the room.
"James has been the one probably who's impressed me the most of the returning quarterbacks," Eck said. "He's doing a really good job ... But we keep getting better and really, that's kind of the blessing in disguise of Jack being out — it gives us more opportunities to evaluate the other guys who we haven't seen as much."
Committed
Games are not won or lost in spring practice.
Recruitments are, though — and UNM landed a pretty nice win Thursday.
Cleveland High School tight end Elijah Richards committed to the Lobos via a post on social media, marking the biggest in-state commit in Eck's three months with the program.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior chose UNM over offers from in-state rival New Mexico State and Northern Arizona after visiting last weekend and during Thursday's practice. He is the fourth in-state prospect to commit to the Lobos since Eck was hired; defensive lineman Carlos Barela (La Cueva), linebacker Thomas Pettus (Volcano Vista) and wide receiver Mikey Beck (Farmington) all signed on or ahead of national signing day in February.
Continue reading...
