Recruiting: Three More 2023 NM Prospects Commit To ENMU

Photo: Eastern New Mexico

Scott Hood January 28, 2023 @ 10:04 PM

<p>Less than a week before National Signing Day, Eastern New Mexico is on a major roll when it comes to recruiting in-state players.</p>   <p>A couple of days after two of the top defensive players in the state committed to the Greyhounds (Ruidoso DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138085' first='Dalton' last='Trapp']</strong>, Hobbs LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138050' first='Kenyon' last='Singleton']</strong>), ENMU secured the commitments of three more 2023 prospects – Sandia OL <strong>Franklin Finch</strong>, Los Lunas PK <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='335475' first='Kaden' last='Bell']</strong> and Carlsbad DE <strong>DJ Moore</strong>.   </p>   <p>The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Finch was a First-Team All-District and First-team All-Metro performer for the Matadors, helping pave the way for Sandia's productive ground game led by RB [player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'].</p>   <p>Finch told Prep Redzone New Mexico that his conversations with ENMU head coach Kelley Lee and his assistants sealed the deal.</p>   <p>“I was impressed by how the coaches aren't just purely focused on football,” Finch said. “They care about your degree and what classes you need to take to graduate. “My conversations with Coach Lee were very business-like, which I prefer. We also talked about his philosophy for football, which I can very much get behind.”</p>   <p>Just as ENMU is expected to do in Lee's return to Portales, Sandia emphasized the ground game with Thymes, a 1,000-yard rusher, being  the primary ball carrier.</p>   <p>“I got to block for one of the best running backs in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'] and was coached by some really good people,” Finch said. “Things like that are very important to me. My time at Sandia is something I wouldn't trade for anything. I loved every second of it.”</p>   <p>Bell was widely regarded as the best kicker in the state. He handled all three major duties for Los Lunas: kickoffs, punts and field goals. He averaged 69.0 yards on 66 kickoffs (62 touchbacks) and 39.8 yards on 32 punts.</p>   <p>Bell also converted 11-of-15 field goal attempts (long of 46) and 43-of-44 extra points.</p>   <p>Moore had 39 tackles, 7 TFL and 3 sacks in 9 games for the Cavemen this past season.</p>   <p>ENMU could be close to securing additional commitments from deserving New Mexico prospects. 2023 Albuquerque High DB Jabby Cooper, one of the fastest players in the state in 2022, took a visit to the ENMU campus on Friday and met with Lee. Saturday, Raton RB [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'], the state's all-time leading rusher with nearly 8,000 career rushing yards, was offered by ENMU during a visit to Portales.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Dj_moore9/status/1618377391239462913 </div></figure>   <p> </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Datboi_Frank/status/1618474392396365825 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Kbell_31/status/1618662560475254784 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/caydenwalton4/status/1619538663007997952 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JabbyCooper/status/1619178417769046019 </div></figure>

Less than a week before National Signing Day, Eastern New Mexico is on a major roll when it comes to recruiting in-state players.