Hounds football signs 56

PORTALES — Quality is the goal, but quantity sure increases your chances of hitting it.

It will be determined on the turf of Greyhound Stadium if the 2019 signing class was of significant quality. But there’s no denying the Greyhounds gave themselves plenty of bites of the apple with 56 total signees announced Wednesday.

Paint Greyhound coach Kelley Lee as the optimist with a class that includes 15 players from New Mexico, four from Lubbock and two from El Paso.

“I’m really excited about this class,” Lee said, “(It’s) potentially the most talented since I’ve been associated with Greyhound football.”

In all, players from seven different states signed on with the Green and Silver — the expected New Mexico and Texas, plus Colorado, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Florida.

New Mexico football fans will notice Manzano running back Xavier Ivey-Saud and Portales quarterback Julian Urioste, but Lee believes other positions saw better hauls.

“We’ve got a really good group of wide receivers,” Lee said. “We like the group of defensive linemen we got as well.”

When asked if running the triple-option offense would hurt the Greyhounds when recruiting receivers, Lee said, “You would think it is, but I think they realize they get a lot of one-on-one opportunities. We signed some really good guys people would like to have.”

The Greyhounds will begin their spring season in two weeks. The 2019 schedule has not yet been finalized.