Knudson: Where Do Lobos Fit in Kouandjio Saga?
FacebookBy Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
February 4, 2011
The national commentators were baffled.
“It’s between Auburn, Alabama and…New Mexico?”
When you got past the implied insult (just another in the continuous stream of subtle put downs aimed at the “little guy” Mountain West Conference) you could certainly understand where they were coming from.
Big Cyrus Kouandjio, the high school offensive lineman from Maryland and rated as one of the top three college football prospects in country, had waited until National Letter of Intent Day to choose where he was going to play his college football. He had offers from the best of the best but was keeping his choice a secret until the TV cameras were his and his alone.
The speculation was tantalizing for commentators and viewers alike.
When the time came, just after 10 a.m. Mountain Time, Cyrus spoke softly and somewhat uncomfortably announced he was choosing Auburn.
And that was supposed to be that.
Except that Cyrus wasn’t happy with what had come out of his mouth. After the cameras stopped rolling, he decided that he wasn’t decided after all. He decided not to sign the letter of intent the coaches at Auburn were sitting next to their fax machine waiting for. Later, Cyrus announced he needed more time to make a decision. He was back to being undecided.
And supposedly, amazingly, New Mexico was still in the mix.
Meanwhile, a couple thousand miles away in Albuquerque, Lobos head coach Mike Locksley was collecting signed letters from 20 young men that he hopes will play a significant role in improving the on field fortunes of the New Mexico football program. Several of the new players had three stars next to their names on the recruiting websites, but none had the five stars or the reputation that Kouandjio carried. In fact, none of the players that signed with any of the other MWC teams had the same sort of perceived pedigree that the 6’ 7” 322-pound tackle from renowned DaMatha High totes.
Getting a guy like Kouandjio would be a coop not only for New Mexico, but for the entire “little guy” MWC as well.
Could it happen?
No one who follows recruiting believes so. To them, it’s always been between Auburn and Alabama, and they’re right way more often than they’re wrong. Many were not even mentioning New Mexico as a possibility any longer. Some were throwing a fourth team, Iowa, back into the conversation, as if to say that if there has to be someone else in the mix.
By gosh it had to be a Big Ten team, not a lowly outfit from the misfit MWC.
But the question remains: Where exactly do the Lobos fit into the mysterious Kouandjio puzzle? What would cause a kid who had the top programs in the country, almost all of whom are located significantly closer to his home, banging on his door for two years or more, to so strongly consider what the East Coast folks consider a Wild West outpost like UNM?
In time, the whole story will come out. Perhaps there’s a little Bobby Knight or Steve Alford in Cyrus. A love of the outdoors, a desire to get away from big cities and high-pressure situations. No one could blame him for that.
Maybe he’s a Brian Urlacher fan. New Mexico was one of only four schools Kouandjio took an official visit to when he landed in Albuquerque in early December. He must have connected with something, or someone, during that trip.
For now, it’s a feather in Locksley’s cap for sure, even if and when Kouandjio signs with Auburn or Alabama. Lockley’s relationship with Cyrus as well as the Lobos assistant coaches who were recruiting him is what is mentioned as the reason that the Lobos were in Kouandjio’s final three.
If nothing else, this may be a great sign for Lobos fans that Locksley’s the right man for the job.
ALL TIMES MOUNTAIN
