Last season was a tough one for the New Mexico State Aggie football team.

Through it all, quarterback Chase Holbrook continued to be a steady, if not spectacular, presence under center.

Holbrook's numbers were, in fact, down last year when compared with his 2006 campaign. The quarterback threw for 3,866 yards, 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, while, the year prior, he tallied 4,619 yards, 34 TDs and just nine picks.

Still, issues surrounded Chase Holbrook last season that, in many respects, were out of his control. First off, was the fact of a banged up roster, forcing the soon-to-be senior to throw to different targets on a week-to-week basis. Holbrook himself got dinged up a bit last year, suffering hurt ribs during the team's 20-17 win over Arkansas Pine Bluff that forced him to miss a handful of games and also going down with a concussion when the team visited Hawaii later in the year.

Through it all, Holbrook took the field most weeks, performed under trying circumstances and never complained about his role or the direction of the team. In other words, the quarterback remained a leader through the tough times and still ended up with a respectable statistical season when it was all said and done.

"I think Chase is a terrific player," head coach Hal Mumme said. "I think he actually improved but the expectation level was so much higher than what we ended up with, it's kind of been overshadowed a little bit."

Strong performances from Holbrook last year included Week 2 at New Mexico (47-of-63, 473 yards, four TDs), Week 3 hosting UTEP (36-of-48, 434 yards, three TDs), hosting Nevada (35-of-49, 407 yards, four TDs) and hosting Fresno State (31-of-52, 323 yards, one TD).

The final two showings came without some of his main targets lining up on offense. Throughout the year, Holbrook saw, at different points in time, his No. 1 receiver shift between Chris Williams, A.J. Harris, Nick Cleaver, Wes Neiman, Derek Dubois and Kenneth Buckley. That's what happens when injuries hit the lineup and the wideout position is a revolving door down the stretch run of the schedule.

Still, Chase Holbrook remained level headed, found ways to produce and was a mentor for his younger teammates.

"I always had questions last year about everything," said Neiman, who saw his first significant action in the offense at the tail end of the season. "He'd show me and everyone else what to do. It's pretty good having a guy who will probably make the NFL and he's able to teach you different things about the game."

Holbrook came into this spring eager to get back to work. Two new receivers are present at Aggie camp in LaVorick Williams and Marcus Anderson that are sure to see balls in the NMSU offense. Another intriguing piece to the wide receiving corps is Julius Fleming, who came in highly touted but was hurt all of last season.

There is also a transition at the tackle position, where a handful of players are vying to replace the departed Mike Martinez and James Farrelly.

"I knew we had some new guys coming in," Holbrook said. "The way we play, it's a little different. We don't huddle, we play fast. We need to get those guys in so they can learn how we play. I wanted to come out and do more than what I did last year."

Count on another strong season, from the senior QB.

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