Lobos position preview: Former NFL coach Carson Walch leads deep, talented receiver room
Plenty of coaches, at plenty of programs, might come into a new job and try to get a feel for what they’re working with. And in order to do so, they might throw on last season’s tape, watching and dissecting the strengths and weaknesses of players they’re now responsible for coaching.
Carson Walch did no such thing.
“I think that’s the way it should be,” New Mexico’s first-year wide receivers coach said Monday. “There’s always coaches that were here that saw it and said, ‘well, this guy did this but he didn’t do this well.’ I wanted to see it with my own eyes and just start from ground zero with these guys and give everyone an opportunity.”
A longtime friend of UNM head coach Jason Eck, Walch joined the Lobos’ staff in February after five years with the Cleveland Browns, where he served as the club’s director of offensive skill development from 2023-25.
He previously served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ receivers coach in 2019 in addition to stints with the Chicago Bears and the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes.
“I wanted these guys to show me what they had,” Walch said, “And really, what we had to do is not start all over, because we had talented kids. But it was just a different way about how we coach wideouts. Everything is technical, everything is from the ground up, and I think we’ve done a good job with the group.”
In fairness to Walch’s approach – staying clear of the film – there was only so much he could watch from last season. UNM returned just two receivers that played significant snaps – Shawn Miller (606) and Zhaiel Smith (520) – and lost Keagan Johnson, the Lobos’ leading receiver with 61 catches for 772 yards.
Miller was still recovering from an offseason procedure on his left little finger when camp started. But the fifth-year senior overcame a slow start to author one of the strongest finishes of any receivers in camp, notably shining in UNM’s last two scrimmages.
“If I had a pin in my finger all summer long and then I showed up to training camp and I had to catch fastballs from quarterbacks, it’d be tough,” Walch said. “I had empathy for him. He fought his way through adversity, he came back and for the last 10 days, he’s made a ton of plays for us.”
And after an up-and-down freshman season, Smith also appears to have taken the next step. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound sophomore is noticeably stronger than he was last year, when he caught eight passes for 112 yards.
“I feel like we could put Zhaiel at X, W or Z (positions), and he can go do the job,” Walch said. “He’s really physical at the point of attack and blocking, and he’s a really good technician at the position (in terms of) getting open.”
UNM also returns Kader Diop, who only played two snaps last season due to injury. Like Miller, the sixth-year senior finished camp with a flourish, making two impressive catches on deep passes over the last week.
“One thing people don’t realize about KD, he’s got some really good straight line speed,” Walch said. “ … You talk to our special teams coaches about him, they’re raving about him as well. I think he’s gonna be a complete guy for us this year.”
Of UNM’s two transfer receivers, only Miles Williams (Eastern Washington) has been a full participant in practice throughout fall camp. Troy Omeire (UNLV) was a limited participant with a non-contact designation over the first three weeks of camp.
While the 6-5, 226-pound seventh-year senior has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, Walch likes how he’s handled himself as he’s recovered.
“This guy’s been all in,” he said. “When he (pulled his hamstring) … (Omeire said), ‘don’t worry coach, I’ll be back.’ He’s got a smile on his face, he works hard, he fits in with the group – he’s a Lobo through and through and we’re happy that he’s getting past it and hopefully (be) ready to go here soon.”
Four freshmen – Massiah Mingo, DJ Darling, Dorian Patterson and Bailen George – have also consistently flashed during camp. The former two were early enrollees in January while Patterson – a regular scrimmage standout at 6-3, 192 pounds – and George arrived over the summer.
“There’ll always be ebbs and flows with young guys,” Walch said. “We installed a ton of offense here, and there’s going to be three, four plays where it’s like, ‘yes, that’s exactly right.’ And then you’re gonna get a couple plays that hit them like a ton of bricks – like, all of a sudden, a safety rotates and they’re not ready for it.
“But we cold-call them in the meeting room – believe me. They’ll be ready for week one. I think it’s a talented group (and) I think our room is a talented group. But we still have a long way to go before week one.”
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
