New Mexico State Aggies Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the New Mexico State season with what you need to know and keys to the season.
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New Mexico State Aggies Preview
Head Coach: Jerry Kill, 1st year at New Mexico State
24th year overall (154-101), 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 2-10
Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
New Mexico State Top 10 Players | NMSU Schedule
New Mexico State Aggies Preview 2022
There’s hope.
The program that hasn’t had a whole lot of fun has a new coach, a new vision, and it’s got a conference to play in when it joins Conference USA next year.
Doug Martin gave it one heck of a run.
He kept plugging away year after year in an impossible situation, busted through in a wonderful 2017 campaign with a winning season and bowl victory – the only winning season in his 16 runs as a head coach – but after nine years New Mexico State has a new head man.
Enter Jerry Kill, a magnificent head coach who’s been able to win everywhere he has been, but medical issues derailed his time at Minnesota.
He’s been an assistant ever since, and now he’s getting a shot to do what he does with a program that won more than three games just once since 2011 and enjoyed one winning season since 2002.
This team will get good offensive line play, and there will be more from the ground game, but more than anything else, it’s about getting the pieces in place for 2023.
New Mexico State Aggies Preview 2022: Offense
Again, a Jerry Kill team will want to run the ball. His teams are built on controlling the clock, grinding it out, and playing a tight style without a lot of mistakes. That’s easier said than done with what he has to work with, but there’s a decent amount of experience returning for offensive coordinator Tim Beck to work with.
The offensive line. To keep hammering this home, Kill will end up making the offensive line solid. Last year’s group couldn’t get much going for the ground game, and the pass protection wasn’t there, but there’s three starters are expected back and there’s good versatility to play around with the lineup.
Leading rusher Juwaun Price is off to Syracuse – he ran for 693 yards and ten scores – putting the pressure on former Michigan Wolverine O’Maury Samuels and TCU transfer Ahmonte Watkins to carry the load.
The Aggies lost top quarterback Jonah Johnson to the transfer portal, and it’s going to take a little scrambling this fall camp to settle in. Sophomore Weston Eget is a big passer who completed just one of ten throws in his time last year, and junior Dino Maldonado can run a bit.
For all of the team’s problems, there was a surprisingly deep receiving corps.That’s going to be put to the test with deep threat Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda bolting for Nebraska and Terrell Warner in the transfer portal.
This year, pretty much everyone who did much of anything big last year is gone. This will be a very young, very inexperienced bunch.
New Mexico State Aggies Preview 2022: Defense
The defense was the bigger problem last year. The offense wasn’t always great, but the defense provided no help allowing 489 yards and 40 points per game. On the plus side, eight starters are expected back and there’s enough transfer portal help to make a difference.
The secondary has a whole lot of options now. As is the cornerbacks are experienced – DJ McCullough led the team with three picks and Syrus Dumas was second with two – but on the way is Mekhi Miller from Maryland and Andrew Seldon from Michigan to provide some help. They all need to make more stops for a secondary that gave up 291 yards an outing.
With Chris Ojoh – the team’s leading sacker with six – flirting with the transfer portal and then sticking around, and with Trevor Brohard back in the middle with the game to go along with his name, the linebacking corps should be an early strength.
The front three is back full along with veterans for a decent rotation. There has to be a whole lot more happening against the run, but there’s size around end Donavan King – one of the team’s best at getting into the backfield.
Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
New Mexico State Top 10 Players | NMSU Schedule