Oct. 15—During fall camp, the question was posed to New Mexico running backs coach John Johnson: With only so many carries to distribute, how do you keep a group as talented as it is deep happy?
“We all had these conversations one-on-one and all of them said, ‘coach, I ain’t worried about the carries. I want to help the team win,'” Johnson said in August.
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Even amid one of the more surprising trends of the season, that appears to be exactly what’s happening.
The trend in question: running back Scottre Humphrey’s diminishing workload. After taking 10 or more handoffs in three of UNM’s first four games, the preseason All-Mountain West selection and Montana State transfer has carried the ball nine times for 18 yards and one touchdown in the Lobos’ last two games.
That’s with the acknowledgement that UNM had to effectively abandon the run in the second half of both games — losses to San Jose State and Boise State. Running back Damon Bankston (52 carries, 207 yards, three touchdowns) saw the most carries in the Lobos’ first quarter of league play, doubling Humphrey’s attempts with 18 rushes for 69 yards and one touchdown.
Why? To head coach Jason Eck, it’s as simple as Bankston playing better at this point.
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“We think Damon has played the best lately,” he said after a 41-25 loss at Boise State on Saturday. ” … Damon is kinda getting the most right now, because he’s been the most productive. And then (running back D.J. McKinney) and Scottre are sharing stuff. (Running back Deshaun Buchanan) is kind of our fourth (right now).”
For his part, Humphrey (56 carries, 281 yards, four touchdowns) called Bankston his “brother” and credited him for his performances over the last few weeks.
“Seeing him do what he’s doing, it’s wonderful to see. I’m happy for him,” the junior said after practice Tuesday. “And we just gotta be better as a RB room so we can all get as many carries as possible.”
Notes and quotes
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INJURY REPORT: After missing the Boise State game with an undisclosed injury, wide receiver Michael Buckley (six catches, 76 yards) is set to miss the rest of the regular season, per Eck. The redshirt junior’s potential return would be “like a bowl game type thing,” UNM’s head coach said in a news conference Tuesday.
Linebacker Dimitri Johnson’s status is also “up in the air” after the fifth-year senior missed last week with an undisclosed injury. Cornerback Abraham Williams was also expected to return to practice this week, according to Eck.
TURNOVER MARGIN: The Mountain West’s worst teams in turnover margin? UNM (-10) and Nevada (-11).
“This will be a great battle that could decide the game,” Eck said. ” … Let’s see (the) two teams who are poor on that, who can get it right in the game? Because we both can’t — we both can’t be minus-three in the game. One of us has to win that battle.”
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SCOUTING REPORT: Eck complimented Nevada’s defense (28.7 points allowed per game) and said it’s been a “really nice” unit to this point.
“I think they’ve (been) put in tough spots because their offense has struggled at times … Nevada is a real multiple team,” Eck said. “I think that’s one thing they do that makes them challenging. They do a lot of different stuff on defense, a lot of different looks and fronts and coverages and personnel packages.”
As for the Wolf Pack’s offense? “They give you a lot,” he added. “They give you unbalanced (formations), they give you some split-back packages, they give you quarterback run game, they go formation in the boundary. They have some, I think, stuff that’s tough to defend and gives you issues that you got to really get lined up well (against) and communicate.”
STARTING FAST: After falling behind 10-0 in the first half against Boise State, how is UNM addressing another slow offensive start?
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“We’re looking at some things just to change even our pregame routine. We’re gonna do it a little differently this game,” Eck said. ” … We gotta make sure we do a good job with the staff of, really, executing our openers. (Offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner) told the offense that yesterday, that three of our first four plays had execution errors.
“And those are the opening plays that we’re scripting and practicing a lot. That can’t happen. We gotta coach that stuff up better to make sure that’s there.”
IN ATTENDANCE: Eck said former UNM great Brian Urlacher will be in town with other alumni for Homecoming.
“I think it’s outstanding when we can have alumni back,” he added. “It’s always special when we have people come from out of town or come from a distance, make a sacrifice to come back. (I) love when former players come here. I know we had a lot of former players who were back for the New Mexico State game.”
