Recruiting New Mexico: Lobos fulfill vow to sign local prospects

If the former New Mexico staff was still in place, 2021 Goddard (NM) offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26159" first="Larry" last="Luna"]</strong> would have likely decided to play his college football elsewhere. He probably would have ended up at New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) in his hometown of Roswell for two years before seeking a Division I opportunity inside or outside the state. The previous New Mexico staff didn’t have a great relationship with our school,” Luna told Prep Redzone New Mexico recently. “They were disrespectful to us. I didn’t have a whole lot of communication with them. But when Coach Gonzales and his staff took over, the offensive line coach started reaching out to me a lot.” However, first-year Lobos head coach Danny Gonzales, who was hired in January to lead UNM in a new direction, has spearheaded an enthusiastic effort by the school to recruit and sign more New Mexico high school football players. Wednesday, the Lobos signed a quartet of New Mexico players to letters of intent, and the 6-foot-6, 300-pound  Luna was one of the four. “It’s exciting to know I’m one of the few guys that gets the opportunity to play football at the next level,” said Luna, who was also offered by NMMI and Northern Arizona. “UNM has been talking to me for a while. I spoke to the coach whenever he was in town. We had constant communication. They seemed to care about more than the other schools. That had a big impact on my decision. Being one of the first New Mexico guys to sign with UNM is pretty cool.” Luna said he will stay at Goddard for the spring season before arriving at UNM in the summer. 2021 Clovis defensive end/outside linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26157" first="Jaden" last="Phillips"]</strong> tells a similar tale to Luna’s. “The former UNM staff did not talk to me at all,” Phillips told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “It was only when the new staff came in (that I heard from UNM). It feels  good to see all my hard work pay off.” Phillips initially committed to UNM last spring, briefly decommitted and then recommitted again to the Lobos. All part of the meandering recruiting journey that many prospects experience. “When I decommitted, it was just more of a me thing,” Phillips said. “I had to figure out some stuff for myself, but ultimately I tried to picture myself playing somewhere else and I just couldn’t. That’s when I knew UNM was the place for me to be.” Like Luna, Phillips said he will remain at Clovis High School for the spring season before turning his attention to UNM. Gonzales encouraged Luna and Phillips to stay home and play for their high school teams this spring rather than enrolling early in January. “I’m 100 percent telling them to play ball,” Gonzales said Wednesday during his Early Signing Period press conference. “They should get it. High school football is one of your most fun and finest times of your life. For us to be selfish and take that away, that’s the wrong thing to do. I have zero reservations about those guys competing.” In addition to the four New Mexico prospects signed on Day 1 of the Early Signing Period (Cleveland WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26158" first="Luke" last="Wysong"]</strong> and La Cueva DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26161" first="Ja’Shon" last="Lowery"]</strong> joined Luna and Phillips on Wednesday) , the Lobos signed two in-state players last February – Rio Rancho LB Dion Hunter and Los Lunas DE Bryce Santana. With six in-state prospects signed this calendar year, Gonzales says UNM is just getting started recruiting the best high school football players in the Land of Enchantment. In fact, he aims to sign at least four or five New Mexico prospects annually. Five years from now, he hopes to have a nucleus 25 to 30 in-state scholarship players on the Lobos. “We’re going to go through the entire state every year and try to find the best players we think can help us become a better football team,” Gonzales said. “We’re going to build off as many New Mexico kids as we can. We’re going to try to take four or five every year. We have some momentum right now. Of course, the Lobos didn’t get every New Mexico prospect they recruited. Gonzales aggressively pursued Clovis QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26155" first="Chance" last="Harris"]</strong> (Colorado State), Los Lunas DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26153" first="Tyler" last="Kiehne"]</strong> (UCLA), Sandia DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26154" first="Sam" last="Carrell"]</strong> (Washington State), and Cleveland TE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26156" first="Tre" last="Watson"]</strong> (Fresno State) but they decided to leave the state. “Signing our four New Mexico guys (Wednesday) was huge,” Gonzales said. “It shows everybody we will recruit the state of New Mexico. Every New Mexico kid that signed a Division I scholarship (Wednesday), we recruited them. We tried keep all of them home. Some worked out. The rest, I wish them good luck. I want New Mexico kids to be successful.” UNM’s best advertisement for New Mexico prospects thriving in Albuquerque the past few weeks? Probably former Rio Rancho QB Isaiah Chavez, who became a national story going from fifth-string walk-on signal caller at the beginning of the season to leading the Lobos to a pair of consecutive conference victories over Wyoming and Fresno State in the final two games. “Because of what Isaiah did, I’ve heard a lot of people say over the past few days that New Mexico kids haven’t been given a fair shot and ask whether Isaiah was glad he could step out and show New Mexico guys can play,” Gonzales said. “If that was the case before we got here, that’s a shame because there are plenty of New Mexico kids that can play. We’re going to recruit both scholarship players and walk-ons that will eventually earn scholarships from this state.” https://twitter.com/UNMLoboFB/status/1339775370766118913 https://twitter.com/UNMLoboFB/status/1339695617883451397 https://twitter.com/UNMLoboFB/status/1339691843282477064 https://twitter.com/UNMLoboFB/status/1339680518485491714 https://twitter.com/UNMLoboFB/status/1339676746203860992