Football News

Written by: Teddy Feinberg/Sun-News Sports Editor

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Perhaps the most impressive aspect of spring football at New Mexico State University this year was the development of the team's three newcomers at wide receiver.

Marcus Anderson, LaVorick Williams and Julius Fleming all opened eyes in camp with their blend of speed, quickness and catching ability and are sure to play a role this season in the team's Air-Raid system, which sees the Aggies throw the ball all over the field in an attempt to put points on the board quickly.

"Gosh, they are exciting," head coach Hal Mumme said. "They all made plays and will continue to do so. I think the biggest thing they bring to the table is speed. We just haven't had that in years past."

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State football team went through 100 plays in its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium and junior running back Seth Smith highlighted the day with his 10 rushes for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

The Aggies "Air Raid" offense threw for 486 yards on the day and two touchdowns while the running back corps ran for another 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Chase Holbrook was 11-of-14 in five series of work for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns one to Marcus andserson for 21 yards and the other to Tonny Glynn for 23 yards..

Sophomore quarterback J.J. McDermott then took over the offense from there on out and he completed 17-of-35 passes for 254 yards..

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

Also See: bleedCrimson.net Weekly Coach Mumme Interview :: 04/18/08

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Hal Mumme was happy with how his offense performed in last week's first scrimmage of the spring football campaign.

Today at Aggie Memorial Stadium, the Aggies hope for improved play and to get some more players some work in the final scrimmage leading up to next week's spring football game.

Last week, NMSU ran through 110 plays and Mumme said today's scrimmage will likely last about as long as last week's affair.

"We want to continue to get our young guys a lot of work," he said. "We did good things last week, but we want to continue that improvement this week. We'll do a lot of the same things."

Mumme said star wide receiver Chris Williams will likely sit out this scrimmage as he did last week.

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Marcus Anderson has come a long way in a short time frame in his football career.

And it's paid off with a Division I scholarship.

The 5-foot-7 Anderson didn't start playing football until his junior year of high school in Austin, Texas, and that came at the encouragement of his cousin, Everett Myles.

"I played other sports and did fine in those," Anderson said. "I'd always liked football and I'm fortunate that everything has worked out."

After two years in high school, Anderson decided the junior college route was the best for him, so he decided to attend Pasadena City College in California. In two seasons there, he caught 84 passes for 846 yards and nine scores. He also returned kicks and punts for the Lancers. Last year, he returned a kickoff 88 yards and a punt 77 yards.

Written by: Teddy Feinberg/Sun-News Sports Editor

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The way things are shaping out at New Mexico State football camp, running back looks to be a position of strength heading into the 2008 season.

The Aggies can thank Seth Smith for bolstering the depth chart.

The College of the Sequoias transfer has been a solid contributor this spring, as he continues to try and learn the nuances of the NMSU's pass-happy offensive system.

"Seth's kind of the tweener out of all the running backs we have," NMSU head coach Hal Mumme said. "Brandon (Perez) is big and strong. Tonny (Glynn) is our fast guy out of the backfield. And Seth's a little bit of everything. He sees holes and creases real well. I like what he's brought to our team so far."

Mumme didn't even mention another running back Marquell Colston, who wide receiver A.J. Harris said is a good player coming out of Modesto Junior College in California.

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Both Randy and Ryan Franzoy are hopeful that 2008 will be fruitful in terms of playing time for the New Mexico State Aggies football team.

Both are also recovering from knee injuries, which required surgery.

Both also got their fair share of time on the field during Saturday's first full-blown scrimmage at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Randy Franzoy is trying to make it as a linebacker and special teams player, while the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Franzoy is trying to make noise at tight end.

"I feel good," Ryan Franzoy said. "I started going full force in December and I'm actually faster right now than I was before my surgery. My hands are good right now, I'm just trying to find consistency. I really want to make a difference and help the team out."

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head football coach Hal Mumme has been high on freshman wide receiver LaVorick Williams since he signed with the program last December.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 178-pounder from Odessa, Texas, and who played for one of Texas' most storied programs at Permian High School, shined big-time in his first scrimmage. He caught seven passes for 167 yards and a score, showed good speed and good leaping ability.

"LaVorick has all the attributes of a good receiver," NMSU safety Derrick Richardson said. "He's going to be a good one for this program."

Williams had arguably the play of the day when he caught a short pass, broke a tackle and went 75 yards for a score.

"LaVorick brings a big-time play ability to our offense," backup quarterback J.J. McDermott said. "He did a good job and he's getting better."

Written by: Teddy Feinberg/Sun-News Sports Editor

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The last two seasons, every time a kicker took the field for the New Mexico State Aggies, it seemed that an adventure would soon follow.

Whether it be a badly missed field goal, a blocked kick or a kickoff that traveled just 10 yards, the Aggies have struggled to find competent play from the position during the majority of head coach Hal Mumme's tenure.

The hope is that things will change for the better in 2008. And judging from the spring performance of kicker Kyle Hughes, early signs point to marked improvement across the board for the special teams unit.

"He's a strong kid," Mumme said of Hughes following NMSU's first spring scrimmage of the season on Saturday. "People don't realize how good of an athlete he is. You need that out of a kicker. He's hitting it well for us."

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Today, the New Mexico State Aggies will get an early look into how much they have improved so far in spring practice.

The Aggies will engage in the first of two scrimmages before their spring football game on April 26.

New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme said the defense has improved in the first few days of spring practice in the new 3-5-3 defense, but he noted he'd like to see the defense continue their upward climb. First-year defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn installed the new defense after being hired to replace the retiring Woody Widenhofer.

"The defense is working hard," Mumme said. "They are still learning."

The defense returns seven starters from last year's 4-9 team and with a new philosophy in place throughout the entire unit, learning a whole new system is the main objective of the spring.

Written by: Felix Chavez/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Last season, Dante Floyd had a solid season at middle linebacker for the New Mexico State Aggies with 124 tackles and 10 tackles for a loss.

This year Floyd is no longer around. Enter junior college transfer Nick Paden.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker is getting an early look at being one of the starting linebackers in Joe Lee Dunn's new 3-5-3 defense.

"Nick has good feet," NMSU head coach Hal Mumme said. "He runs well and he's solid. He'll get a chance to compete for time."

Paden has never played in a defense like Dunn's, which emphasizes speed and aggressive.

An athlete like Paden, with good footwork and speed, could make an immediate impact on the defense.