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New Mexico State Inside Slant

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Updated Dec 7, 2009 5:20 AM ET
     
 
There were no grand illusions of winning seasons or bowl games at New Mexico State University this season.

But a surprising 3-3 start to the season, including beating in-state rival New Mexico for the first time since 2002, had expectations soaring a little high for first-year coach DeWayne Walker.

The reality was, the unsuccessful Hal Mumme era left the Aggies with a roster void of much FBS-level talent, and certainly not pieces that fit the complete offensive and defensive overhaul Walker had in mind.

The 2009 season was more of a stopgap between the hiring of Walker and the start of the transformation to come, which begins with a critical recruiting process this offseason.

"We've got some work to do," Walker told the Las Cruces Sun-News. "We're really just re-doing our whole roster. ... We gotta build this football team and this roster the way that we want it."

The recruiting priority for the defensive-minded Walker, at least in terms of what he is saying publicly, is finding some defensive linemen to add depth and help stop the run -- NMSU's defense, while solid, was still no match athletically for most of the top-tier teams in the Western Athletic Conference.

It's hard to imagine the staff won't be focusing on a nearly complete overhaul of the offense, which was one of the worst overall in the country, had a 20-quarter touchdown drought and put together one of the nation's worst seasons in recent memory at the quarterback position. NMSU quarterbacks Jeff Fleming and Trevor Walls combined to throw 18 interceptions and just six touchdowns and easily had the nation's worst passing efficiency rating (79.01).

While freshman quarterback Tanner Rust was redshirted and is waiting in the wings, it's hard to imagine NMSU not trying to find a junior-college quarterback to step in and start in 2010. Without drastic improvement at the quarterback position, it won't matter how much attention Walker pays to his beloved defense.

Tagged: New Mexico State

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