NMSU wasn't very good in 2010 but actually showed signs of progress after an even worse 2009 season.
To keep that progress rolling along, head coach DeWayne Walker had to swallow some of his defensive pride during the 2010 season and during the 2011 recruiting season. The man who made his name by trotting out some of the best defenses in the Pac 10 at UCLA not only relinquished his duties as defensive coordinator at NMSU in 2010, he allowed the 2011 recruiting class to be overrun by offensive players.
"As it turns out we were a little offensive heavy at the wide receiver and offensive lineman positions and we took more running backs then expected, but in our conference we have to score points so we had to take more playmakers on the offensive side of the ball," Walker said.
It's true that the WAC does seem to err on the side of needing more offense than defense, but it doesn't matter what league the Aggies play in if their offense doesn't start producing more points on a regular basis.
The Aggies ranked 117th in the nation in 2010 in scoring offense (15.67 points per game). It was even worse in Walker's first season at NMSU, when the team was dead last among the 120 FBS schools with an average of 11.46 points per game.
Nobody is arguing the defense has been any good, either. But the general idea at NMSU is try to finally shore up at least one side of the ball and allow the head coach, who is a great defensive schemer, to try to fake it with some smoke and mirrors while the offense scores a few more points in 2011.
TOP OF THE CLASS
DE Sean Brown (Chabot College, Hayward, Calif.) -- The 6-5, 253-pounder will be given an immediate shot to be the pass rush specialist off the edge the Aggies desperately needed in 2010. NMSU was awful in creating pressure, and head coach DeWayne Walker hopes Brown is the answer.
WR Kemonte Bateman (Pasadena City Community College, Pasadena, Calif.) -- NMSU is in desperate need of some playmakers on an offense that wasn't great on 2010. Bateman was a two-year starter in junior college who will likely step in and be given a chance to start immediately for NMSU, or at the very least work into a steady rotation in offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar's spread-offense.
CB Samuel Oyenuga (Rowlett High, Rowlett, Texas) -- The most talented player to leave the 2010 team for NMSU was CB Davon House, a four-year starter who might get a shot in the NFL. Oyenuga has first-year player ability and could even challenge to start in the NMSU secondary at some point as a true freshman next fall.
