Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Marcus Anderson, LaVorick Williams and Seth Smith are all new players the New Mexico State is trying to fit into its "Air Raid" offense.
So far, the three players have made an impression with the team and head coach Hal Mumme says those three will get a lot of repetitions during spring football practice, which runs through April 26.
Anderson and Williams are receivers and Smith is a running back.
"We have more speed and that's good for us," said Mumme after Saturday's practice, the third for the Aggies this spring. "We'll give the newcomers a lot of looks this spring. To have them here in the spring is critical."
Anderson and Williams will try and add depth to a receiving group that includes returnees Wes Neiman, A.J. Harris and Chris Williams. Smith is battling for a starting spot as the team's running back.
"Marcus is very fast and LaVorick is young, but he's maturing and learning all the time," NMSU quarterback Chase Holbrook said. "Those two will help us a great deal and they can make plays. We're still doing a lot of the same things as previous years, but we'll have some new wrinkles."
Also mentioned Saturday was redshirt freshman Julius Fleming, who is getting a crack at wide receiver. Both Mumme and Holbrook mentioned Fleming as a player with upside as a playmaker.
Saturday's practice was the first in pads for NMSU and Mumme was pleased with the effort.
"It went as we thought," he said. "We did some good things on the offensive side of the ball. We've added some new things, we just wanted to improve and get people involved. The defense is learning a new scheme and they played hard."
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The Aggies are pretty set at offensive guard on the O-line with left guard Chuck Taylor and right guard Polo Gutierrez and at center with Richie Bolin.
But the right and left tackle spots are open and there are several players battling for time there, including David Norman, Patrick Blount, Kyle Smith, Joe Suder and Derek Thompson.
"The competition is good," Smith said. "We have lots of guys that are good players at the tackle spot. We're working hard to get where we want to be."
Added Gutierrez: "I thought we had a good day (Saturday). We have experience with me, Richie and Chuck. The guys at tackle are working hard and they will be just fine. We have some depth there."
Mumme said backup center Michael Grady is a player to keep an eye on. The freshman redshirt from Corpus Christi, Texas, got his share of time on the field on Saturday. Mumme that the footwork of both Suder and Norman have been impressive.
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The Aggie defense continues to learn the new 3-3-5 defense installed by first-year defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn.
On Saturday, there were different looks, including one lineup that had just two defensive lineman.
"We do some different things," junior defensive lineman E.J. Cannon said. "We're still learning, but the effort is there. We have to be aggressive and go to the ball. We're just trying to improve every day."
Senior linebacker La'Auli Fonoti said there are a lot of new things to be installed in the defense.
"We haven't put everything in yet, we're still learning things and see where people will be playing," Fonoti said.
The Aggies are back to practice on Monday at 3:30 p.m. The team will practice on Wednesday and Friday before engaging in a scheduled full scrimmage next Saturday at 10 a.m.
Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@lcsun-news.com
