New Mexico State Football: Living the independent life

Offense

For the fourth straight season, head coach Doug Martin will also serve as his own offensive coordinator. In his first two years leading New Mexico State, Martin employed Gregg Brandon as his offensive coordinator. But anemic offenses led to Brandon’s departure, and Martin has served in the dual role ever since.

He will have to deal with some critical losses to the unit in 2018. Larry Rose is gone at running back, and Jaleel Scott departed at wide receiver. Both were the top producers at their respective positions. Between them, the Aggies lose 21 of the 47 offensive touchdowns they scored last season.

OJ Clark, Anthony Muse, and Johnathan Boone will look to step up at receiver after each caught at least 30 passes last season. Jason Huntley takes over in the backfield for Scott. As a junior last season, Huntley had 110 touches for nearly 800 yards and three touchdowns.

If the offensive line holds up after an offseason of injuries and recovery, they could get back to a bowl game. The return of center Jamin Smith, who was granted a medical redshirt and a sixth year of eligibility, is a boon for the line.

Focusing on the quarterback situation

After a prolific season in 2017, Tyler Rogers is no longer in Las Cruces. Though he was a junior-college transfer, Rogers spent four years with the Aggies. Just as they enter independence, New Mexico State also needs to deal with preparing a new starter under center.

The leader in the race to take over for Rogers is redshirt senior Nick Jeanty. Through his first four years at New Mexico State, Jeanty threw 188 passes for 1,028 yards. He has six touchdowns through the air and six interceptions. And the pro-style quarterback isn’t bound to do much with his legs, notching just 75 yards on 40 carries since first taking the field in 2015.

Redshirt freshmen Cameron Matthews or Josh Adkins are probably the top two players dueling for the backup role behind Jeanty. Would Martin consider going with a younger player to develop much-needed experience at the position? It will depend on how fall practices turn out and how close one of the youngsters can get to Jeanty in terms of consistency.