Recruiting: SUU Eyes New Mexico Prospects

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Ron Hudson was the head coach at New Mexico Highlands a few years back, he prioritized the recruitment of New Mexico prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that he's coaching in the Beehive State, Hudson hasn't forgotten that many NM prospect are talented enough to play at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson, currently the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for Southern Utah (rejoining Big Sky Conference in 2026), and the Thunderbirds staff recently extended an offer to 2027 Cibola DE/Edge <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679747' first='Isaac' last='Behrens']</strong>, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, following a recent camp in Cedar City, UT.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuesday, Behrens announced his verbal commitment to SUU.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Will he be the first of many to make the journey from the Land of Enchantment to the southern Utah mountains? &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Behrens was one of several New Mexico prospects to compete at the camp. Hudson wants the number of NM prospects camping at SUU to increase in future years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“There's good high school football in New Mexico,” Hudson told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “And there's good coaching. There's a bunch of kids who don't get recruited. When I left New Mexico and came to Utah, I talked up New Mexico players and told folks there are a lot of good players in the state that are leaving and going to other places. I knew if we built the connections and did it the right way, we could get some good players. There's not a lot of competition.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Hudson arrived at Southern Utah in March (he coached at nearby Utah Tech in 2024), he emphasized to the Thunderbirds head coach the importance of recruiting New Mexico. The head coach was convinced.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I told him that there are a lot of good players in New Mexico that get overlooked,” Hudson said. “If we get in there and recruit some of those kids, we'll get some good players. As a result, we've made a push into New Mexico.&nbsp; I reached out to guys and they responded. They want to be recruited by us. Our head coach is happy. It's relatively close. Parents can drive to games. It's a natural fit.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson says Southern Utah's recruiting philosophy is to only offer prospects that attend one of the Thunderbirds' camps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're first going to offer kids that come to one of our camps,” Hudson said. “If they show an interest in us and prove they deserve an offer, we're going to offer. We don't throw out offers like candy. Some schools do, we don't. We're selective and we strive to recruit guys that have expressed an interest in us. New Mexico has a bunch of blue-collar, tough kids with a chip on their shoulder. If we get a couple of those, they'll bring a toughness and grit to our program.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson was the head coach at NM Highlands for two seasons – 2022 and 2023. His predecessor barely recruited the state. So, when Hudson was hired as the Cowboys head coach, he vowed to change that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“When I got the job, the first thing I said was we were going to recruit New Mexico,” Hudson said. “We signed about 30 players per year from New Mexico. That's what got me going with recruiting New Mexico players. I wanted that family culture that's so strong there.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson has gained notoriety in the coaching profession for developing physical offensive lines. Wherever Hudson has been, his teams are known for running the football and winning the battle in the trenches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Here at Southern Utah, we're balanced, but we're going to run the football,” Hudson said. “That's my background. Wherever I've been, we're always been Top 10 in the nation in rushing.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After a lot of prayer, thought, and conversations with my family and coaches, I am blessed and excited to announce that I have committed to continue my academic and athletic career at Southern Utah University. Go Birds! <a href="https://t.co/Te4pH5Jxf0">pic.twitter.com/Te4pH5Jxf0</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1679747' first='Isaac' last='Behrens'] (@IsaacBehre22224) <a href="https://x.com/IsaacBehre22224/status/2072082467771797661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>           </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->