Biggest Man On Campus

Going back to his pee wee football days, Las Cruces senior offensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="26230" first="Royce" last="Paulk"] has always been the biggest player on his football team. When you’re currently listed at 6-foot-7, 350+ pounds, that goes for the Bulldawgs as well. Because of his enormous size (the numbers in the last sentence just captured the attention of all college coaches reading this) and how he got here, Paulk enters the 2021 season as one of the most intriguing prospects in the state. Along with [player_tooltip player_id="134992" first="Matt" last="Franco"] and [player_tooltip player_id="135905" first="Dillon" last="Hein"], he’s the centerpiece of what promises to be one of the top offensive lines in New Mexico, and a major reason Las Cruces should be regarded as a Class 6A championship contender. “Personally, I just want to work my hardest and get better,” Paulk told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “I want to be the best I can be and learn so much more. I’ve got high hopes for what we can do and what we are capable of achieving. People will see this year what Cruces is made of.” Paulk’s career at Las Cruces started off with a few rough patches before he showed considerable improvement in the spring as a junior. As a sophomore in 2019, Paulk began the year as an offensive line starter before being replaced due to ineffective play. Now he’s taken his game a couple of levels higher. “His improvement has just been really fun to watch,” Bulldawgs coach Mark Lopez told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We knew about him as a ninth-grader because of his size. The question was whether he would be physical enough to be able to play. He got some varsity time as a sophomore but fell out of that position because he wasn’t consistently bringing it the way he needed to.” However, when the spring season started, Paulk quickly demonstrated he was a different – and much improved – player, a transformation that actually began off the field. “It looked like the light bulb went on,” Lopez said. “He started to realize what it takes on an every-play basis. We saw him turn it on in the spring. He showed he can dominate at that position, without a doubt. He also started falling in love with the weight room. That was great to see. His progress in the weight room has been fun to watch. Now he’s become one of our leaders in the weight room. “If you had asked me that two years ago, I would have said, ‘No way.’ He’s a tremendous kid. He has a heart of gold. He really wants it and I think he’s finally starting to see the path to possibly getting his education paid for and being a great football player for us too. I’m super excited to see what he’s going to do as a senior. He’s finally bringing the physicality to match his size.” Paulk, who began playing football in the eighth grade, started playing tennis a year or so ago, Lopez said, and that activity has greatly enhanced his balance and footwork. “It just shows the mobility he has as a 6-foot-7, 350-pound kid,” Lopez said. Paulk’s recruiting is just getting started. A strong senior season should produce plenty of suitors. He recently attended the Texas Tech camp. https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1398127333635067912 https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1408618446963712000