Porterie More Comfortable Now

Donovan Porterie is starting to get it. It doesn't appear as if he'll get to finish getting it. One of the big reasons the University of New Mexico football team nearly pulled off the upset of San Diego State on Saturday was Porterie's improvement in running UNM's quick tempo attack that nullified a lot of the pressure and situational substitutions Aztecs defensive coordinator Rocky Long could bring. "It's still not to where I'm used to seeing it," coach Mike Locksley said Sunday, one day after the Lobos' 23-20 loss to SDSU in front of 12,647 fans at Qualcomm Stadium - the other fans were dressed as empty seats for Halloween. "But it gave us a chance to attack their blitz so that they weren't able to tee off. I thought Donovan did a great job with our fast tempo, but also with our normal tempo, he was able to go with what we consider our 'repeat cadence' so they show where the blitz is coming from." The senior quarterback has not thrown an interception in two straight games or in three of his last four. He is averaging 266 passing yards in those four games. Locksley said the MWC has given UNM permission to apply for a medi- cal redshirt for Porterie to the NCAA based upon his abbreviated 2008 season that ended with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The head coach, however, didn't sound optimistic about Porterie's chances of getting a sixth year of eligibility. "Just from talking to our compliance people, they don't feel it's a good enough or strong enough case to get because typically you have to have lost two years of the ability to play due to injury. Donovan's first year was a redshirt year, it wasn't due to injury. We're going to prepare as if he's not here." So the senior could have just four games to revive his legacy at UNM. It's a blow to the Lobos, even with their intention to recruit quarterbacks that are more of a fit athletically with Locksley's offense. At worst, Porterie would be a valuable backup with a year's experience in the system and five years of game experience. "He really understands the management of the no-huddle," Locksley said. "To see him operate it last night with the different tempos, getting the ball snapped quicker - I know earlier in the year it was killing me when we would go to our Lobo tempo, which is our fastest tempo, everybody's lined up and he wasn't snapping the ball because he was processing it. "He's definitely managing it and operating it quicker, which allows us to dictate what we want to do to defenses, rather than the other way around." WAS IT A CATCH? Locksley stressed he did not wish to questions the officials call in overturning Porterie's 25-yard pass to Bryant Williams on fourth-and-20 to the SDSU 38 on the Lobos' fateful last possession of the game. The officials, who originally called Williams effort a catch, said replay showed he did not have possession before falling out of bounds. But when pressed to answer if he saw anything on UNM's game recording to suggest that Bryant's catch was valid, Locksley said, "I thought his foot was down, but our view is so wide that you can't tell. "I think we've got to rely on our own breaks and not rely on the officials." INJURY UPDATE: Redshirt freshman cornerback Nathan Enriquez suffered a concussion during Saturday's game and is questionable for UNM's upcoming game at Utah. Saturday UNM at Utah, 4 p.m. TV: The mtn. Radio: KKOBAM (770)/Lobo Network