New ENMU coach vows to continue emphasis on in-state recruiting
Former Eastern New Mexico head coach Kelley Lee made sure recruiting local prospects from the Land of Enchantment was always a high priority for the Greyhounds program. His successor, Tye Hiatt, vows to do the same. “When I got the…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFormer Eastern New Mexico head coach Kelley Lee made sure recruiting local prospects from the Land of Enchantment was always a high priority for the Greyhounds program.
His successor, Tye Hiatt, vows to do the same.
“When I got the job, Kelley was actually one of the first people to reach out to me and congratulate me,” Hiatt told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We talked a lot about recruiting New Mexico. He talked about the state and how it often gets overlooked in recruiting. He urged me to reach out to the New Mexico high school coaches.
“The previous state where I was at, West Virginia, is very similar. Not a lot of people recruit the state. We (Division II Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W. Va.) ended up getting some of the best players in the state because of our relationships with coaches and our willingness to go out to the high schools and be involved and be at the games and practices.”
Hiatt said he will adopt the same approach at ENMU. In fact, he’s already started a get-to-know you initiative with New Mexico high school coaches.
“That’s going to be the same plan,” Hiatt said. “In my first two weeks being here, I tried to personally reach out to many different coaches within the state. Just getting guys on the phone and introducing myself, telling them who I am and assuring them we’re going to make the state a huge importance. We wanted to make sure they knew we’re still going to actively recruit the state.”
Based on facilities, history, tradition and coaching, Lee was convinced ENMU was the third best option for high school football players after FBS programs New Mexico and New Mexico State.
Hiatt agrees.
“If they don’t go to New Mexico or New Mexico State, they should be coming here,” Hiatt said. “There are a lot of good football players just in eastern New Mexico. You’re talking about a lot of different programs that have a lot of tradition like Artesia, Hobbs and Roswell. They might not have a guy every single year, but there’s plenty of players that can make a difference for us and fit our program.”
Hiatt has already taken a deep dive into the 2022 class in the state. It features several offensive and defensive linemen ENMU will likely offer. In fact, four of the top five overall prospects in Prep Redzone’s 2022 rankings are offensive linemen.
“Looking at the 2022 class, there are good offensive and defensive linemen, which is something you have to great with your high school recruiting,” Hiatt said. “There are some good-looking kids.”
ENMU is holding a pair of prospect camps next month: July 20 at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, NM and July 21 at Frenship High School in Lubbock, TX. An opportunity to get prospects on campus comes July 23 when the Greyhounds host their annual 7-on-7 tournament.
“It’s a great way to get kids on campus and show what we have,” Hiatt said. “We have nice facilities.”
Hiatt will bring a different scheme to Portales compared to the run-dominated triple option attack preferred by Lee. ENMU will throw the ball more under Hiatt.
In 2019, Hiatt, serving as the school’s offensive coordinator, helped coach Shepherd to a 10-3 record and an NCAA DII playoff appearance in the team’s first season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Shepherd was the Div. II statistical champion in passing yards per game (347.0), third in completion percentage (.703), fifth in first down offense (324), and sixth in total offense (507.0).
Quarterback Tyson Bagent was the NCAA DII statistical champion in passing yards per game (362.4) and completions per game (28.58). Shepherd also had a 1,000 yard-rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers for the second time in program history.
“We’re not going to be triple option like they ran with Kelley,” Hiatt exclaimed. “But we’re definitely going to run the quarterback and throw the football more.”
(Part 1 of a two-part interview)
🚨🐾🚨🐾🚨🐾
Prospect Camp Dates are set!!!
Register for a chance to get noticed by the Greyhound coaching staff!!! pic.twitter.com/ZwP99b7jnn
— Eastern New Mexico University Football (@ENMUFootball) May 24, 2021
Who’s ready to compete?!!! 🐾Information on our 7v7 Tournament and Linemen Competition for July 23rd!!!!! pic.twitter.com/JNFwUw8vYm
— Eastern New Mexico University Football (@ENMUFootball) May 24, 2021