WAC Media Days: New Mexico State

• DeWayne Walker is joined by Donte Savage and Andrew Manley:
• No answer as to how long NMSU can sustain as an independent.
• Just want to play football.
• Walker was always looking forward to 2012.
• Walker ran the defense in year one, but will back off this season and run the team.
• Better on defense early during his tenure, but offense has run ahead now.
• Still trying to find balance.
• California, Texas, Arizona is the main recruiting base.
• Has connections in Florida, Hawaii, and is now setting up a pipeline in Florida and Mississippi.
• Andrew Manley had some pressure to stay in Hawaii, but was happy to leave.
• Walker: Believe and compete. past that now.
• sites improved chemistry.
• First 6 games will be critical for success.

Spoke personally to coach Walker after their presser. We spoke about the challenges of working in a program like NMSU as compared to UCLA. He siad that at a BCS program, everything is pretty well established with systems in place as far as facilities, recruiting bases, and resources. In Las Crucas, that is not the case, and they struggle to maintain their systems.
I spoke to him about the large number of JC transfers in the WAC, and his explanation was that at NMSU, they are not in a position to rely on freshmen, as they cannot always sign an entire class. If they have positions of need, they go JC, because the freshmen that they do get are not usually ready to play right away. If NMSU has an immediate need, they recruit JC players who can step in right away, and their preference is mid-year transfers who can be involved in Spring ball. If they have a position of strength, they will recruit a freshman to be able to develop said player.

One fun fact note, Coach Walker is an alumnus of the old USFL. I spoke to him about a potential relaunch this fall, and he was enthusiastic about the proposal of a new USFL on the horizon. He said that having another pro league in the states, playing by american rules, would be beneficial to college kids in the US that just want to play ball beyond college, without regards to money. He stated that the Arena League is a different game, as is the CFL, so he fully supports the USFL making a comeback run, and had fond memories of his days in the USFL with Arizona and Oakland.

Next up, San Jose State