Three-way battle at QB for Hounds

For three seasons, the Eastern New Mexico University football program pretty much knew what it would get from the quarterback position with Wes Wood.

CMI correspondent photo: Joshua Lucero

Greyhound defensive coordinator Oliver Soukup directs defensive players Wednesday morning during the Greyhounds football practice at the Greyhound practice field

The Muleshoe product has now graduated, though, and three in-state sophomores — Jeremy Burma of Las Cruces, Ryan Greene of Roswell and Jacob Jameson of Lovington — are battling it out this spring.

Second-year ENMU coach Josh Lynn is enjoying the competition, which will be featured when spring drills end in Saturday's 10 a.m. Green & Silver game at Greyhound Stadium.

"I believe all three of them bring something to the table," Lynn said. "The guy who comes out as the starter will be the guy who executes and makes the least amount of mistakes."

The three candidates are in general agreement that it's Burma's job to lose, primarily because this is his third year in the program. He got only a handful of plays last season before suffering a broken collarbone at Angelo State, an injury he also sustained at Las Cruces High.

"When I came, Wes was here and he had started as a sophomore," said Burma, stressing that his mindset now is to be the starter. "We all can do the job, but I think I'm the guy — that's how I come out to practice."

All three were top QBs at the high school level in New Mexico. As a senior at Lovington, Jameson faced Greene — one year his junior — during a regular-season game and Greene's Goddard Rockets managed a 53-52 win.

"I always tell him that he got lucky," Jameson joked.

CMI correspondent photo: Joshua Lucero

ENMU sophomore quarterback Jacob Jameson tosses a lateral during the Greyhounds football practice Wednesday morning at the Greyhound practice fields.

Jameson hasn't played the position, though, since high school. He went to New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs to play golf as a freshman before transferring to New Mexico Military in Roswell last year and playing running back, wide receiver and punt returner.

"I feel like it's wide-open," he said of the QB competition. "I feel like Burma's the first-team guy right now; he's a good leader, and he helps me out a lot. It's fun to kind of battle it out and have that competition."

Greene started camp last fall as the fifth QB, but worked his way up and got time in the last two games of 2012 with Wood banged up.

"It was good for me to see what it was like (to play) at this level," he said. "I'm enjoying every minute of it (this spring). It's a fun competition, and we're all good friends."

Greene said he still needs to improve his passing.

"I'm probably third right now, based off performance," he said. "They're producing better than I am right now."

Defensively, Lynn said the Hounds have a few areas of concern, but added that cornerback could be the deepest position on that side of the ball.

One of them, junior Darrelyn McCloud, followed Lynn to ENMU from NMMI when Lynn was hired as the Hounds' head coach in December 2011. McCloud, who moved from Anderson, Ind., to Albuquerque as a freshman in high school and played at Manzano, had two interceptions in a scrimmage last Friday and is looking to bounce back from a knee injury that kept him out last season.

"I think we could be one of the best secondaries in the (Lone Star Conference)," he said. "We've got a lot of good athletes."

ENMU also returns top defensive lineman Bracy McCoy, a 6-foot-1, 260-pounder from Freeport, Texas, who earned All-LSC North first-team honors in 2010 but was among the athletes held out last fall due to NCAA eligibility concerns. He was eventually cleared and was redshirted.

"Pound for pound, he's probably our best defensive player," Lynn said.