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Before every Gopher game, we will ask a reporter who covers their opponent to give us a glimpse into who they play in the upcoming week.
We asked Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News six questions about the New Mexico State Aggies, who Minnesota plays on September 1st.
Huge thanks to Jason Groves for contributing!
Follow Jason on Twitter: @JPGroves
- What changes have you seen and what has the mood been around the program with a new head coach running the team for the first time in almost 10 years?
I think the biggest thing Jerry Kill has done since he was hired in November is stirring up interest and excitement for the first time since the team ended the nation’s longest bowl drought in 2017. Embracing the community is necessary in a small town like Las Cruces, and Kill has been visible throughout the community. We recently saw some tangible proof that it works recently as there will be a $10 million football locker room addition, hopefully, next year through an approved bond revenue issuance. It’s a two-story facility where the top floor can be utilized by all athletes on campus, but the bottom floor will be a new locker room. Just for context, the current locker room was constructed at the same time as the stadium in 1978. That should help recruiting, where they did a good job in year 1 despite no commits in November when he was hired. As far as on the field, so far there is a definite change from an air raid to a team that wants to run the football, but whatever win total they reach this year, i think there is a good foundation for when they go to Conference USA next year.
- New Mexico State is coming off a 2021 season where they finished 2-10. The Aggies do return nine starters on the defense and a few on offense. What are the expectations for this team heading into the 2022 season?
Nevada was the first of six home games this season and one of five very winnable games. They lost that game, but the defense proved it could keep them in a game, which after allowing 40 points per game last year, was a good sign. Nevada isn’t good, but neither is Hawaii, FIU, New Mexico, UMass or Lamar. If NMSU can find a way to win four of those games, it would double last year’s win total, which I think is possible and would prove Kill to be a solid hire after Year 1.
- In their first game, New Mexico State played two quarterbacks against Nevada. Starter Diego Pavia led the team in rushing but Gavin Frakes had a better night throwing the ball. Has Jerry Kill announced a starter against Minnesota? Who do you see coming out as the leader of the two?
Pavia earned the start in the first game, but Frakes earned a shot at getting a start and Pavia threw four interceptions against a bad defense. Frakes is the better athlete with better arm talent and higher upside, but he’s also a true freshman. Kill declined to answer that following Saturday’s game and it does seem a bit unfair to start Frakes against one of the best defenses in the country, but I expect both guys to play at some point.
- Linebackers Chris Ojoh and Trevor Brohard seem to be the leaders on a defense that returns a good portion of their starters. What other players do you see having an impact on the defense?
They added graduate transfer Bryce Jackson, who was a starter at UNLV and led the team with 8 tackles against Nevada. Defensive end Lazarus Williams had the team’s only sack and Syrus Dumas is probably the team’s best corner. Oklahoma transfer Noah Arinze played a good portion early in the game in his first real action of his career. He’s a big body, who was a former four-star recruit who didn’t see the field at Oklahoma but I’m excited about.
- What players on the NMSU offense do you see having an impact this season that Gopher fans should know before the game on September 1st?
Neither junior college running back transfers Jamoni Jones nor Star Thomas had a great FBS debut, but I’m not sure if the lack of a run game was more due to the offensive line or the game being too fast for the RBs. Former four-star recruit Ahmonte Watkins came with Kill from TCU and has good speed while the other two are bigger backs, but Watkins didn’t get a carry, but he’s supposed to be the speed guy in what I thought would be a team strength. Both outside receivers Justice Powers and Kordell David had good games on Saturday. They are both big targets. Tight end Thomaz Whitford didn’t have a target against Nevada, but I believe Kill wants to use the tight end so if Minnesota plays more man, perhaps he will see some targets.
- What is your prediction for the game between New Mexico State and Minnesota?
I usually don’t like predictions for these games against Power 5 teams, because the talent disparity is so great. As an independent, NMSU plays at least two of these games every year and they have three this season, with this game coming on a short week. I have to believe they went all out to try to win the Nevada game, and the depth simply is nowhere near where it will be in the next couple years. With that said, I think a lot of guys will play on Thursday, which could lead to the kind of margins that Vegas is predicting. The offensive line has a long ways to go in my opinion and basically no depth so unless they get some big plays or somehow have some short fields, scoring points will be difficult. Defensively, they did a good job on Saturday and didn’t allow any explosive plays on the ground. Giving up big plays was a major issue last season, so I know they would like to see that trend continue against a good offense.