Recruiting New Mexico: NMSU wants more in-state players (Part 3)

When New Mexico State finally trots out onto the field for its first game in February – the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the Aggies will feature a roster with eight former New Mexico high school football players. Oliver Soukup, who serves as NM State’s assistant head coach/linebackers coach and coordinates the school’s recruiting efforts in the Land of Enchantment, views the state as a “hidden gem.” For confirmation, all Soukup has to do is look around his linebacker room. Two of NM State’s projected four starters at the positions are products of New Mexico high schools. Two of the Aggies’ captains for the upcoming season are from New Mexico. “There’s some really good talent here,” Soukup told Prep Redzone New Mexico recently. “If you just look at the last couple of years, through the efforts of the media and scouting services, I think the number of players in this state being recruited has gone up. Now it’s on the guys being recruited to stand out and make this place more of a showcase. “We’re not bringing in token guys just  to come in here and stand on the sidelines for four or five years. We want guys who are going to come in here and play and be contributors. The first thing I tell every prospect from the state of  New Mexico is we want guys who want to be here. That’s why most of the guys we recruit stick here." Soukup wants to see the number of New Mexico players on the Aggies’ roster increase in the coming years. “We love the New Mexico guys that we have,” Soukup said. “Do we want more? Absolutely.  But that’s recruiting too. There are times we’re not going to get the guys we want. So, when people say we don’t recruit New Mexico like we should, I get upset. We love the state of New Mexico. I’m a New Mexico guy.” For the 2021 class, NM State currently has at least one verbal commitment from a New Mexico prospect: Ruidoso TE [player_tooltip player_id="26167" first="Grant" last="Oberheu"]. He plans to skip his final high school season in the spring and enroll at NM State in January. Through the efforts of Prep Redzone and other scouting services, Soukup believes fewer New Mexico players are being overlooked compared to past years. “With the internet and all the resources we now have available, college football coaches rarely miss guys,” Soukup said. “There are so many of us out there. Does it happen? Maybe. We do our due diligence. I rely on high school coaches tremendously. I have a lot of respect for them. “I don’t recruit a guy in this state without talking to the high school coach. I trust the words of the high school coach more than what I see on social media. And I talk with opposing coaches too. We take our time. Sometimes that makes people upset, but we have to do what’s right for our program.” Three of NM State’s eight New Mexico players played locally at Las Cruces high schools. Three are from the Albuquerque metro area (2 from Los Lunas, 1 from Rio Rancho). Soukup said he typically gets a warm reception when he speaks with prospects living in or near New Mexico’s largest city. Offensive lineman Evan Tafoya-Vallo from Rio Rancho and running back O’Maury Samuels from Los Lunas, a Michigan transfer, are two former Albuquerque area standouts who decided to play their college football in Las Cruces. Both are ready to make an impact in 2021 after sitting out the 2019 season for different reasons (injury, transfer). “There are a lot of Albuquerque guys that want to come down here,” Soukup said. “Some of it is to get away from a place they’ve been their whole life. We never get a bad reception wherever we go in New Mexico. That’s one thing I love about recruiting New Mexico. I love getting out there and driving around New Mexico for eight or nine days and hitting as many high schools as I can during the spring. The reception I get from the kids and the coaches is awesome.” Soukup devoted plenty of time and resources to recruiting Samuels four years ago but watched him sign with Michigan following a prolific career at Los Lunas in which he rushed for 4,306 yards and scored 50 touchdowns. However, after carrying the ball just 21 times in his first two seasons with the Wolverines, he left Ann Arbor and headed back to New Mexico. That’s when Soukup’s prior relationship with Samuels paid off. “I recruited the heck out of O’Maury,” Soukup recalled. “We were his first offer after his sophomore year of high school. Typically, we don’t do that. We usually offer guys after their junior years. But O’Maury was a special, special player. He went to Michigan because it was flashy and sexy. We understood. “But I kept in contact with him. When he wanted to transfer, he came back. We never burned the bridge with him. We don’t do that. It’s OK for people change their minds.” Soukup also recruits El Paso, Tex. for the Aggies. The city of 700,000 is located just 40 miles south of Las Cruces and annually produces a fair number of Division I prospcts. He compares the talent he recruits in New Mexico favorably to what he normally finds in Far West Texas. “There is a lot of comparisons in terms of talent,” Soukup said. “Talent-wise, it’s comparable. The differentiating factor between New Mexico and Texas has more to do with politics and the importance placed upon football and athletics in general. The support aspect definitely favors Texas. “But when Clovis goes over and plays a school in Lubbock or a Las Cruces school goes down to El Paso, they are always good ballgames. It’s usually pretty close. The talent and coaching are on the same level. It’s just that little bit of support factor. “If New Mexico can improve that, it will only get better.”                                . <strong>NOTES</strong>: -- NM State has scheduled its first game of the spring for Sat., Feb. 20 vs. Tarleton State at Aggie Memorial Stadium. -- Soukup said NM State wants to have its spring schedule wrapped up by the end of March in order to give the players plenty of time to prepare for the 2021 season. <strong>New Mexico Players on 2020 New Mexico State Roster</strong>: James Blowers, LB (Las Cruces) Trevor Brohard, LB (Los Lunas) Jalen Guerrero, OL (Las Cruces) Jake Harrelson, DL (Ruidoso)(NMHU transfer) Sol Rascon, WR (Farmington) O’Maury Samuels, RB (Los Lunas)(Michigan transfer) Evan Tafoya-Vallo, OL (Rio Rancho) Matthew Young, LB (Las Cruces) https://twitter.com/CoachChiliDavis/status/1321629843927097344 https://twitter.com/NMStateFootball/status/1321466755571765248 https://twitter.com/NMStateFootball/status/1319662543674036224 https://twitter.com/NMStateFootball/status/1318205266194845699