Finding diamonds in the rough on the recruiting trail is hard enough for Group of 5 schools.
Holding onto them in the age of the transfer portal is even tougher, which is partly the reason New Mexico coach Danny Gonzales brought up the topic after A.J. Haulcy — his standout freshman safety — racked up 24 tackles and an interception in Saturday’s 41-9 loss to Fresno State.
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If the spotlight wasn’t on Haulcy before, it has to be now.
“The game has changed significantly because of the one-time transfer (rule),” said Gonzales, who lost his starting left tackle and leading rusher to Power 5 schools last season and started four true freshmen in his secondary last week.
“It’s a challenge for Group of 5 (schools), for our league. Honestly, what it does is not make me want to return phone calls like this … because all we’re doing is highlighting the ones they can come and steal. And that just makes it that much harder.”
Haulcy, a 5-11, 220-pound former three-star from Missouri City, Texas, was ranked No. 1,899 in the 247Sports Composite last cycle. Kansas was the only Power 5 offer he got, Haulcy’s high school coach said, but the Jayhawks “pulled off.”
“A lot of FBS schools were excited about him and knew he was a good player,” Fort Bend Marshall High School coach James Williams said. “But sometimes you go to these camps and may not run as fast as they want you to or get wrapped up in the measurements. He might’ve run a 4.6 or 4.7, but he was a game-speed guy.”
New Mexico offered Haulcy in April 2021 after cornerbacks coach Troy Reffett, who recruits Texas, watched Haulcy’s junior game tape and fell in love with his big-play ability.
Haulcy’s list of suitors at the end, aside from New Mexico, were FCS programs Texas Southern, Houston Baptist, Southeastern Louisiana and Incarnate Word.
“High school kids are getting under-recruited more than they normally would,” said Gonzales, who spent two years as Arizona State’s defensive coordinator before returning to his alma mater as head coach in December 2019.
“When he got to us in the fall you could tell he was going to play this year. He was athletic in everything we asked him to do. We asked him to play scout-team receiver for a little while, and he’d go up and go get the ball over people. Just a natural football player.”
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Now, Haulcy is not only the top-graded freshman safety in the country by a wide margin, according to Pro Football Focus — leading all freshmen with 61 tackles and two interceptions — he’s also No. 2 regardless of class.
“As big as I am, in high school, I didn’t really tackle,” Haulcy said. “I was a big hitter but not really a tackler. I had a lot of interceptions. I had three interceptions in one game and two of them went for six. But as far as tackling, I wasn’t really a big tackler.”
Haulcy was more of a ballhawk. He totaled 12 interceptions in his three years on the varsity. He only produced 18 tackles in eight games his senior year and 47 for his high school career, according to MaxPreps.
His 24 tackles Saturday — seven solo and 17 assisted — are the most in a game this season at the FBS level, according to Sports-Reference.com, and the most since Utah State’s David Woodward had 24 in a loss to Wake Forest in 2019.
We probably wouldn’t have seen much of Haulcy this season if not for an injury. He played only eight snaps in New Mexico’s season-opening blowout win versus Maine and didn’t play at all in Week 2 versus Boise State. He was third on the depth chart at safety before a season-ending ACL injury to junior Tavian Combs in the third game against UTEP changed everything.
The New Mexico Lobos haven’t had more than three wins since 2016 but they’re 2-1 after a Week 3 win over UTEP that featured SEVEN turnovers including this forced fumble by AJ Haulcy 🔥#CollegeFootball | #WeAreNM pic.twitter.com/EsPZcHIgpm
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) September 19, 2022
Haulcy flashed his athleticism almost immediately against the Miners when he chased down UTEP receiver Tyrin Smith on what was going to be a 76-yard touchdown catch and forced a turnover by knocking the ball out of Smith’s hands (and out of the end zone) as he extended for the pylon. New Mexico was awarded a touchback and won the game, and Haulcy grabbed his first interception in the game too. It earned Mountain West freshman of the week honors. This week, he earned his second league rookie award.
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“He’s a mature freshman that just handles his business,” Gonzales said. “He never shows up on the academic list for not showing up for things. He always goes to class (and) study hall. When he’s in the meeting room, he’s paying attention, taking notes, and if he misses it, he makes sure to ask questions. He’s mature beyond his years. Good players are usually like that.”
Here’s a look at other true freshman standouts from Week 8:
Quarterbacks
We’ve yet to have a blue-chip quarterback in the last recruiting cycle other than Vanderbilt’s AJ Swann make a start this season, but it looks like it might be time for Conner Weigman to take over at Texas A&M.
The five-star from Houston saw his first action in relief of injured starter Haynes King in a loss to South Carolina, completing 8 of 15 passes for 91 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Embattled Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher has yet to name a starter for this week’s game against Ole Miss but was complimentary of Weigman.
“He’s worked his butt off every week,” Fisher said Tuesday. “He understands what we’re doing. His eyes were good. He got the ball out. He saw the field and can regurgitate to you on the sideline what he saw, why he saw it and what happened.”
Six true freshmen earned starts last week, including three new faces: Kent State’s Devin Kargman, Utah State’s Bishop Davenport and Western Michigan’s Treyson Bourguet.
Kargman, a three-star from Camden, N.J., was error-free in a 33-27 win versus Akron. He was 14 of 25 passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He could remain the starter versus Ball State on Nov. 1 with Collin Schlee dealing with a lower-body bruise.
TOUCHDOWN, Kent State!
True freshman Devin Kargman, the former four-star recruit, tosses his first FBS touchdown as a starter, finding Devontez Walker to out the Flashes up 14-10 late in the 2Q! pic.twitter.com/AKpcbgdcTp
— Hustle Belt (@HustleBelt) October 22, 2022
Borguet, a three-star from Tucson, Ariz., led Western Michigan to a 16-10 win versus Miami of Ohio but wasn’t statistically spectacular. He ran for 25 yards and was 16 of 33 for 123 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
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Davenport, a three-star from Spring, Texas, was sacked six times in a 28-14 loss to Wyoming and finished 17 of 26 for 104 yards with an interception. He scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.
Southern Miss’ Zach Wilcke improved to 4-2 as a starter with a 20-14 win versus Texas State. He was 18 of 25 for 187 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Temple’s E.J. Warner dropped his third straight start in a 27-16 loss to Tulsa. He was 23 of 48 for 196 yards and one touchdown with an interception.
Vanderbilt’s Swann threw his first interception and was 13 of 30 for 115 yards in a 17-14 loss to Missouri.
Running backs
Five players ran for more than 100 yards.
Baylor’s Richard Reese led all of them with 186 yards and two touchdowns on a season-high 31 carries in a win against Kansas. He also caught two passes for 26 yards to total more than 200 yards of total offense.
For the first time in his Baylor career, Richard Reese accounted for over 200 total yards, as he finishes with 212, to go along with two touchdown, in the win over kansas. pic.twitter.com/AqgWVwJQuf
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) October 22, 2022
Oregon State’s Damien Martinez wasn’t far behind. He ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a blowout win against Colorado.
Western Kentucky’s L.T.Sanders ran for 120 yards on a season-high 16 attempts in a 20-17 win against UAB. Sanders had five carries for 73 yards entering the game.
True freshman leading rushers
Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins, who leads all freshmen with 829 rushing yards, gained 111 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns in a loss to LSU. Judkins has five 100-yard games.
Rutgers’ Samuel Brown V broke the 100-yard mark for the first time in a 24-17 win against Indiana. He ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on a season-high 28 carries.
Penn State’s duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kayton Allen combined to run for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in a 45-17 win against Minnesota.
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Other players to run for touchdowns in Week 8: Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson (13 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD) and Oregon’s Jordan James (3 carries, 7 yards, 1 TD).
Receivers/tight ends
Texas A&M’s Evan Stewart (6 catches, 87 yards, 0 TDs) and Oklahoma State’s Stephon Johnson Jr. (6-90-0) led all true freshmen in receptions last week.
Tennessee’s Squirrel White was the only receiver to eclipse the 100-yard mark. The former three-star from Pinson, Ala., had five catches for 122 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown in a win.
Squirrel White and Joe Milton Vs FCS backups has been hilarious pic.twitter.com/DjTcPsZAiO
— Big Bad Elijah Simmons Fan (@MFJunkyardDog) October 23, 2022
Oregon State tight end Jack Velling, a three-star from Seattle, had the second-longest touchdown catch of the week — a 60-yarder — in a win against Colorado. It was his first touchdown catch for the Beavers.
True freshman leading receivers
LSU’s Mason Taylor (3 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD) and SMU’s RJ Maryland (5-35-1) were other tight ends who got in the end zone.
Missouri receiver Luther Burden scored on a touchdown catch and a touchdown run, hauling in four passes for 66 yards against Vanderbilt.
Baylor receiver Jordan Nabors and Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. also scored rushing touchdowns last week.
Offensive linemen
Alabama guard Tyler Booker hasn’t started a game yet but continues to grade out well in his more than 30 snaps per week off the bench for the Crimson Tide.
Booker earned the highest grade (70.5) from Pro Football Focus last week for a lineman to play at least 20 snaps. He graded out the best in pass blocking (85.2) and run blocking (67.9) among guards.
LSU right tackle Emery Jones, who made his sixth consecutive start for the Tigers, earned the highest marks (66.6) for an offensive tackle. Jones gave up two pressures and a sack on 39 pass-blocking snaps.
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The top pass-blocking tackle for the week was Missouri’s Armand Membou, who played 30 snaps off the bench against Vanderbilt and scored well (80.6). Clemson right tackle Blake Miller was the top run-blocking tackle (71.0).
Akron’s Kamarri Landers made his second start and graded out well (64.8) for the Zips in a win.
Front Seven
Stanford’s Ernest Cooper, a four-star from Arlington, Texas, scored the highest grade (87.6) of any player in the front seven last week in his first action. He produced five tackles and a sack in only 18 snaps in a 15-14 victory against Arizona State. Cooper had been battling through injury through the first half of the season, coach David Shaw said Saturday.
“We had to put him out there,” Shaw said. “He pressured the quarterback. He got sacks. He ran some stuff down from the backside. He plays with energy and passion and fire, and I’m fired up about what he showed today. I look forward to seeing him have some more opportunities as well, even as the other guys come back.”
True freshman leading tacklers
TCU’s Damonic Williams earned top marks for defensive tackles (82.6 grade) and run defense overall (87.3). He had three tackles and a forced fumble in a win against Kansas State.
LSU linebacker Harold Perkins led all true freshmen last week with six quarterback pressures against Ole Miss. He overtook Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas for the lead with 20 for the season. Perkins finished with five tackles and a sack in the win.
Penn State’s Abdul Carter, FAU’s Jaylen Wester and Indiana’s Dasan McCullough earned top grades for tackling. Wester had nine tackles and a sack in a loss to UTEP. Carter had eight tackles in a victory and was also credited with half a sack. McCullough had seven tackles in a loss to Rutgers.
Other players to record sacks: Syracuse’s Kevin Jobity Jr., Tennessee’s Tyre West, Appalachian State’s Donovan Spellman, East Carolina’s J.D. Lampley and Ohio State’s Caden Curry.
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Defensive backs
Aside from Haulcy, James Madison cornerback Chauncey Logan, a former Rivals.com two-star from Salem, Va., was the only other player with an interception last week.
He had four tackles and the pick — his first — in a 26-12 loss to Marshall. Logan leads all true freshmen with nine pass breakups. He has started the past four games for the Dukes and played 286 snaps.
PFF's highest-graded true freshman DBs
Among cornerbacks, Duke’s Chandler Rivers, a former three-star from Beaumont, Texas, earned the top grade for pass coverage (78.5). In his first start, Rivers had six tackles, two pass breakups and allowed only one catch for 13 yards on five targets in the Blue Devils’ win at Miami. He was named the ACC’s rookie of the week.
Another noteworthy performance: Kansas State’s Jacob Marsh played a season-high 35 snaps off the bench and earned a good grade (74.5), with a pass breakup the only time he was targeted in coverage.
Texas A&M safety Bryce Anderson and Ohio State safety Kye Stokes — a pair of four-stars — were each credited with forcing fumbles last week. Stokes had four tackles on eight snaps in a victory against Iowa. Anderson forced a fumble, recovered two and had three tackles on 15 snaps in a loss to South Carolina.
Special teams
Three true freshmen made three field goals last week, but only New Mexico’s Luke Drzewiecki was a perfect 3-for-3 on his attempts. Western Michigan’s Palmer Domschke was 3 of 5 and made the longest field goal of the week from 52 yards against Miami of Ohio.
West Virginia’s Oliver Straw earned top marks for punting last week (69.8), averaging 46.6 yards, including a 63-yarder. Buffalo’s Anthony Venneri had the longest punt of the week (64 yards), and Air Force’s Luke Freer had the best net punting average (47.0).
Nobody returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown, but New Mexico’s Christian Washington had a 63-yard kickoff return to help set up a score. He ranks second in kick return average (29.0 yards) behind Kentucky’s Barion Brown (43.3).
(Top photo of New Mexico’s A.J. Haulcy (24): Courtesy of UNM Communications)
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