February 4, 2009

Gil Guzman
CrimsonIllustrated.com

Of the eighteen commits, the Aggies signed four defensive linemen and four offensive linemen. Coach Walker emphasized the need for size and strength as one of the Aggies most critical needs.

At the signing event, coach Walker pointed out that quite a few of the players he recruited have "football I.Q.", or that they come from programs that have great coaching and will be urged to compete for starting positions from day one.

"I thought our coaching staff did a great job identifying talent", said coach Walker. On a few occasions, coach Walker felt the Aggies "got a steal" with a few of his new recruits. Namely, he pointed out recruits, [db]Marcus Allen[/db], [db]Dwayne Barton[/db], Lorenzo Caldwell, Jeff Fleming, and Tanner Rust.

While going down the list of his new recruits, coach Walker was asked about QB Tanner Rust. "He's a steal. Keep in mind he plays baseball too so we're going to have to hope he doesn't get recruited to play before we ever get to see him. He can step right in today and be our number three quarterback without a doubt."

As the recruiting day ended, Rivals.com has NMSU ranked at number 113 out of 142 football programs with an average star rating of 2.07.

Below is a list of the 2009 Aggie Football signing class:

2009 NM State Signing Class?	?	?	?	?	?
Name	Pos.?	Ht.?	Wt.?	Hometown?	Previous School/High School?
Marcus Allen?	WR?	6-0?	190?	Newman, Calif.?	Modesto JC/Orestimba HS?
Dwayne Barton	OL?	6-4?	285?	Detroit, Mich.?	City College of San Francisco/ Oak Park HS?
William Bullock?	WR?	6-3?	205?	Manhattan, Calif.?	El Camino College/ Mira Costa HS?
Lorenzo Caldwell?	DB?	6-1?	190?	Fontana, Calif.?	Cerrios JC/ Kaiser HS?
Robert Clay?	RB?	5-10?	190?	New Braunfels, Texas	Canyon HS?
Ruben Escarsega?	OL?	6-4?	300?	El Paso, Texas?	NMMI/Del Valle HS?
Vincent Federico?	DL?	6-4?	290?	West ?Covina, Calif.	Mt. Sac JC/Bishop Amat HS?
John Finau?	DL?	6-0?	290?	Long Beach, Calif.?	El Camino College/ Dominguez HS?
Jeff Fleming?	QB?	6-4?	195?	Fullerton, Calif.?	Fullerton College/Brea Olinda HS?
Jonta Green?	DB?	6-0?	174?	St Petersburg, Fla.?	Benedict College/Lakewood HS?
James?Hall, Jr.?	RB?	5-8?	170?	Las Cruces, N.M.?	Las Cruces HS?
Eric Hunter	WR/DB?	5-9?	180?	Los Angeles,?Calif.?	LA Jordan HS?
Rex Meikel?	DL?	6-3?	275?	Yucaipa, Calif.?	Yucaipa HS?
David Quiroga?	WR?	6-1	205?	Chino?Hills, Calif.	Ayala HS?
Tanner Rust?	QB?	6-2?	195?	Lakewood, Calif.?	El Capitan HS?
Ronny Torres?	TE?	6-4?	230?	Clovis, Calif.?	Fresno City College/Clovis HS?
DJuan Yates	OL/DL?	6-2?	280?	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	College of the Canyons/ Thousands Oaks HS?
Mike Yocius?	OL	6-4?	295?	Cary, Ill.?	Fork Union Military Academy.Cary-Grove HS?

2009 Gray Shirt Signees?	?	?	?	?	?
Name?	Pos.?	Wt.?	Ht.?	Hometown?	High School?
Marquese Dunn?	RB?	6-2?	217?	Pflugerville, Texas?	Henderickson HS?
Justin Smith?	DB?	6-2?	190?	Safford, Ariz.?	Safford HS?
Jake Swenson?	OL?	6-6?	305?	El Paso, Texas?	Montwood HS?
Reuben Thomas?	DB?	6-0?	158?	Pasadena, Calif.?	Muir HS?