4. College Football News Preview 2020: New Mexico Lobos Defense 3 Things To Know
– At the very least, the coaching will be as good as any in college football. Not only is head man Danny Gonzales a defensive-minded coach, but former Lobo and San Diego State head man Rocky Long will take over the defensive coordinator duties.
That’s the plus. The minus is the D they’re taking over that was the second-worst in college football, dead last in pass defense, and struggled against the run.
Oh, and the top four tacklers are gone.
– Jacobi Hearn is a keeper at one outside linebacker job. He’s one of the team’s returning tacklers with 49 stops, and he led the way with six sacks. 232-pound Devin Sanders and 225-pound Brandon Shook are fumes JUCO transfers who were part of the corps last year – they’ll step up into the jobs.
The line doesn’t have a lot of bulk, but 6-2, 308-pound Langston Murray returns on the inside. It’s a thin group overall with little experience and no pass rushing production to count on – it’s going to take half the year to get the right rotation down.
– The secondary that got ripped to shreds gets back just enough experience to hope for a wee bit of improvement. Senior Jerrick Reed is back after making 51 stops – he’s the leading returning tacklers – and Letayveon Beaton came up with 49 stops.
Donte Martin is a good-tackling corner, but he has to come up with a pick – the Lobo defensive backs came up with just two interceptions.