Recruiting New Mexico: New standards, new outlook at NMHU

<p><strong>This is Part 1 of a 2-part series</strong></p>   <p>LAS VEGAS – It's early on a Friday morning in late May and New Mexico Highlands University Co-Director of Athletics Shanna Halalilo is speaking to a roomful of eager and attentive high school football prospects and their parents on the third floor of the campus Student Union Building.</p>   <p>Soon, NMHU head football coach Ron Hudson strides to the podium. Hudson, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience on his resume, has spoken to recruits thousands of times.</p>   <p>Hudson talked for 30 minutes about his expectations – athletically and academically – for the players in the Cowboys program, coaching philosophy, history of the program, the benefits of a NMHU education, how he became head coach in January 2022 and more.</p>   <p>All in all, fairly routine stuff.</p>   <p>But Hudson's folksy, ‘faith, family and football' approach has yielded uncommon results.</p>   <p>NMHU signed 36 prospects in its 2023 recruiting class. Twenty-nine (29) are from the state of New Mexico, a stunning number considering the Cowboys had just TWO players from the Land of Enchantment on its roster when Hudson was named head coach 18 months ago.</p>   <p>Hudson and new recruiting coordinator Garrett Myers may have saved their biggest recruiting victory for last, signing Raton running back Cayden Walton, the state's all-time leading rusher with nearly 8,000 career rushing yards, about a month ago.</p>   <p>You can feel the positive vibes in Vegas.  </p>   <p>“Cayden was a high priority for us,” Hudson told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We've made a commitment to recruit the state of New Mexico. He's practically in our backyard. We knew Cayden was going to be highly recruited because of who he is and how he plays. We worked our tail off to recruit him. We went up to his school and we hosted his family here. We thought our school was a good fit for him. After he came on campus and experienced everything, he thought so too.”</p>   <p>Walton was the 2023 class valedictorian at Raton, so academics are important to him. Hudson has worked tirelessly to boost the football team's GPA, and those efforts are paying dividends.</p>   <p>Hudson's emphasis on academics represents a 180-degree change from the previous coaching staff. It's been a key component of radically changing the culture around the Cowboys program.</p>   <p>“Our players are going to go to class,” Hudson said. “I knew that the way I wanted the culture and chemistry of our team to be in the locker room was totally opposite of what it was when I took over. I make sure our guys understand the standards and we're going to hold them to those standards. If they meet the standards, they'll have a chance for success.”</p>   <p>Focusing on recruiting New Mexico players is another integral piece of Hudson's efforts to change the Cowboys culture.</p>   <p>“When I took over, everybody was from somewhere else,” Hudson said. “Nobody was from here. When you start bringing in high school players from this state, guys are invested in the football team and the community.”                         </p>   <p>Credit Hudson and Myers for their non-stop hustle in the never-ending quest to find worthy future Cowboys. They toured the state during the spring evaluation period and were recently seen at the New Mexico camp in Albuquerque checking out prospects. The following day, they traveled to Las Cruces to check out additional prospects at the New Mexico State camp.</p>   <p>Within days, NMHU extended several offers to New Mexico prospects. 2024 Albuquerque High offensive lineman T.J. McCarthy, one of the top players in New Mexico at his position, visited NMHU on Tuesday. 2024 Rio Rancho LB [player_tooltip player_id='1103708' first='Ryan' last='Brown'] was offered on Monday. 2024 Cleveland LB [player_tooltip player_id='275565' first='Isaac' last='Medrano'] was offered last Thursday.</p>   <p>2025 Santa Fe WR [player_tooltip player_id='615514' first='Bryce' last='Melton'], arguably the fastest player in the state, was offered during the New Mexico camp. </p>   <p>“If you want an urban environment for college, this isn't it,” Hudson said. “I say that up front to everybody. That's OK. But if you're looking for something that's not that, if you're looking for something different, this could be for you. For kids from the city, this is like a resort. They get to experience something different.”           </p>   <p>Hudson isn't shy about posting religious-themed topics on his personal Twitter feed (@NMHUcoachrhud), something he has been doing for a long time.</p>   <p>“When we're in a team setting, I don't push my faith on anybody,” Hudson said. “But I want them to know my faith is important to me. And I want them to pursue their faith if that's what they want to do. I make sure they have opportunities to do that. We have a number of guys who are pretty open about their faith. I encourage them to do that but I make sure I don't pressure them in any way.”       </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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1662115865108807681 </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/5tjay6/status/1671237524638031872 </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/ryan_ryno42/status/1670884200462032896 </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/BobbyHerrera41/status/1669910011039076352 </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/BryceAMelton/status/1668248846265208833 </div></figure>

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series