Recruiting Update – Late Fall Edition

New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales has a message for elite high school football players in the Land of Enchantment: Get yourself to Albuquerque. The Lobos signed about a half dozen New Mexico prospects in the 2021 class, and more than a month before the start of the early signing period UNM appears ready to equal or surpass that number for the 2022 class, and beyond. “We can get those New Mexico kids that are good enough to help make us a really good football team and compete for championships,” Gonzales said recently. “We did it before with a similar model. But while we’re recruiting New Mexico kids, we’re recruiting everywhere else. So, if you wait too long before you say, ‘I’m coming,’ the spots fill up.” Gonzales main message to New Mexico prospects? “We’re building something special. If we have a bunch of New Mexico kids on our team, the stadium is going to be full if they play hard and we win games. Stay home. Understand what we’re about. New Mexico is a blue-collar state. That’s who we are as a football program. So far, three 2022 New Mexico prospect have said ‘Yes’ to the Lobos. La Cueva linebacker <strong>Hunter Haemker</strong> committed to the Lobos in June. Last week, Rio Rancho offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26229" first="Cayden" last="Romero"]</strong> and his teammate, exceptional running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"]</strong>, announced their commitments to UNM within 24 hours of each other. Vigil is arguably the state’s top running back, and he showed why in the recent battle with cross-town rival Cleveland when he rushed for 320+ yards and two touchdowns. Romero is our No. 2 offensive linemen in the latest 2022 ranking behind Jal’s [player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"], a Boise State commitment. Vigil, has rushed for 1,372 yards and accounted for 24 total touchdowns in just 8 games this season, committed to UNM three days after being extended an offer. Rio Rancho had two games cancelled due to covid protocols by would-be opponents. “It just feels great to be a part of a culture that I’m familiar with,” Vigil told the Albuquerque Journal. “I can’t wait to get going with them. (Coach Gonzales) told me what they’ve got going over there and told me what was yet to come and what could be. It helped me make my decision.” Romero was offered by UNM in June 2020. Other programs expressed interest, but he decided not to wait for another offer and commit to the Lobos. “There’s a lot of talent in New Mexico,” Romero said. “But we’ve just never had people looking at us. It’s nice knowing (the Lobos) are looking at New Mexico kids more than in the past. There are a lot of hidden gems in New Mexico.” The Lobos aren’t stopping with just signing the three aforementioned in-state players. Over the past few weeks they have hosted a slew of local players for unofficial visits at home games against Air Force, Colorado State and UNLV. <strong>COMMITMENTS</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="26229" first="Cayden" last="Romero"], Rio Rancho – New Mexico [player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"], Rio Rancho – New Mexico <strong>OFFERS</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"], Las Cruces – Papago Pumas (Arizona JUCO) [player_tooltip player_id="135081" first="Jonathan" last="Fuentes"], Carlsbad – Pacific University (Oregon), Lincoln (CA) University [player_tooltip player_id="134796" first="Ramon" last="Loya"], Carlsbad – Amherst College, Culver Stockton, Rose Hulman, Middlebury College Bailey Siverts, Rio Rancho- Whittier College [player_tooltip player_id="26247" first="Josh" last="Gerardo"], Volcano Vista - Gustavus Adolphus, Clarke University, Cornell College, Bethany College [player_tooltip player_id="135310" first="Jonathon" last="Croker"], Valencia – Lawrence University, Ottawa (KS) University, Bethany College, Willamette University, Ripon College [player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"], St. Pius X – Lincoln (CA) University, University of Puget Sound, Whittier College, Carleton College [player_tooltip player_id="135128" first="Jacob" last="Miranda"], Sandia – Crown College <strong>VISITS</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="135081" first="Jonathan" last="Fuentes"], Carlsbad – Texas-Permian Basin [player_tooltip player_id="134796" first="Ramon" last="Loya"], Carlsbad – Texas Permian Basin [player_tooltip player_id="210966" first="Logan" last="Fuller"], Hope Christian – UTEP, West Florida [player_tooltip player_id="138088" first="Javyn" last="Morales"] – Texas Tech [player_tooltip player_id="198032" first="Landon" last="Williams"] – Stephen F. Austin https://twitter.com/zacharyvigil21/status/1456257970447159300 https://twitter.com/CaydenRomero/status/1456259539804712965 https://twitter.com/jonathanfu2nt2s/status/1450139903937826820 https://twitter.com/dallas2boyd/status/1457914692052127747 https://twitter.com/ramonloya77/status/1456621376220110848 https://twitter.com/iamlandoo/status/1454912951983300612 https://twitter.com/marcoayb/status/1448468029017264129