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It was just past noon Monday when Danny Gonzales opened his fourth season as New Mexico鈥檚 head coach by maybe not dwelling on the past 鈥� a 7-24 overall record, a 12-game losing streak in conference play, two straight years of offenses ranked at or near the bottom of all college football 鈥� but, at the very least, by acknowledging it.

Briefly.

鈥淔irst three years,鈥� Gonzales deadpanned, 鈥渉ave been miserable.鈥�

Then, he smiled. After all, football season 鈥� a new one 鈥� is here.

Ahead of the Lobos鈥� first preseason practice on Thursday night, Gonzales previewed a few positions, points of emphasis and items of interest.

The rundown:

Starting strong

With just under a month before the opener at Texas A&M, a trip to Kyle Field remains the Lobos鈥� most daunting task. All the chaotic energy of the 12th Man. What should be a retooled, if not dangerous offense, under Bobby Petrino and a stout defense under D.J. Durkin. Gonzales said Texas A&M will be the most talented team they play all year and there really isn鈥檛 a close second on the schedule.

There are, however, a couple clear benefits. For starters, it鈥檚 a $1.35 million payday from the Aggies on top of the $250,000 UNM already pocketed upon signing the game contract in 2017. $1.6 million is $1.6 million, no matter where it鈥檚 coming from.

And it鈥檒l be a good chance to see how strong the Lobos actually are. Gonzales stressed time and time again that that was a clear focus this spring. That it was a clear focus all summer. That he鈥檚 felt they haven鈥檛 had legitimately strong football teams over the last three seasons 鈥� much less one he thinks would have been excited to play the powerhouse Aggies.

A good portion of Monday was dedicated to the idea they finally have, well, just that heading into camp.

鈥淲e have a swing behind our hammer now,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 get bullied, we won鈥檛 get pushed around. I mean, we鈥檝e won and we鈥檝e been competitive by being that guy, being the one that doesn鈥檛 get knocked off the ball, (where) the line of scrimmage is either a stalemate or it鈥檚 going in our direction. We鈥檒l finally have an opportunity to do that.鈥�

Biggest question

UNM鈥檚 biggest question entering camp (if not it鈥檚 most interesting position battle) per Gonzales? The offensive line 鈥� specifically how the guard spots play out.

Back in the spring, left tackle J.C. Davis, left guard Isaiah Sillemon, center C.J. James, right guard Shannco 鈥淚se鈥� Matautia and right tackle Devon Smith were UNM鈥檚 starting five. Like what was communicated back then, Smith is expected to be bumped from right tackle with D.J. Wingfield fully healthy after tearing his ACL and MCL in last season鈥檚 opener.

Gonzales was complimentary of James鈥� summer and barring anything unprecedented, it鈥檚 hard to imagine he鈥檒l lose the spot in which he started nine of 12 games last season. Davis and Wingfield have his blessing, which leaves the guards.

There鈥檚 no doubt Sillemon and Matautia will stay firm in the mix, but Gonzales cited a strong offseason from a 鈥渓eaned鈥� out Jer鈥橫arques Bailey and heightened competition in the room with the additions of Sam Telesa (Georgetown), Taurrian Stafford (Alabama State) and Travis Gray (Colorado) as a sign there could be a compelling battle for the left and right guard.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e not good enough up front, on offense or defense, you don鈥檛 have a chance anyways,鈥� Gonzales said.

Master plan

At Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas, quarterback Dylan Hopkins said the offense is about 80% installed. On Monday, Gonzales threw out the exact same figure before expressing how pleased he was with how the installation has gone.

How much higher that figure goes is probably a situational deal and might be easier to track on a position-by-position basis. Triple digits isn鈥檛 out of reach, but don鈥檛 bet on it at this point.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that you ever get 100% of the offense in or 100% of the defense in,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淏ut I think (offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent) really likes where we鈥檙e at in that aspect of it. Now, once we get into game-planning, you can dial some of those things in. But if you don鈥檛 have the base of what you鈥檙e trying to do schematically on either side of the ball, then you鈥檙e just throwing things at the wall and hoping they stick.鈥�

Injury report

When camp opens on Thursday night, all but one Lobo will be available. Cornerback Hunter Sellers will miss approximately three weeks after undergoing surgery to clean out the area around his meniscus.

As for everybody else? All clear, 鈥渨hich is very untypical,鈥� Gonzales said. Notable spring absentees in linebacker Alec Marenco and safety Tavian Combs will be a 鈥渇ull-go鈥� from the start, albeit with supervision to make sure they don鈥檛 reaggravate any lingering injuries too early.

Playing with discipline

Taking out a statistically wonky 2020 campaign, UNM has decreased its total penalty yardage and number of penalties over the last two seasons under Gonzales. He鈥檚 aware of the trend but hasn鈥檛 forgotten the penalties he could probably count on one hand that cost UNM dearly.

In other words: discipline after the snap will be an emphasis.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a 2-10 football team, the ones that happen in crucial moments cost you football games,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 2-10 football team that鈥檚 in a one-score game in the fourth quarter eight of those 12 games, it鈥檚 little things that are beating you 鈥� If you鈥檙e gonna average 12 points a game and you鈥檙e gonna kill yourself with a penalty here and there in a crucial situation on defense, those things are gonna be glaring and they鈥檙e gonna stand out.鈥�

Extra points

The heap of dirt with a bulldozer running over it that is usually UNM鈥檚 outdoor practice field is, uh, not quite ready for action. Gonzales said the plan is to level the field to remove a gully that ran between both practice fields before installing four goalposts for each end zone. In lieu of that, UNM will start camp rotating daily between their indoor facility (for night practice in particular), University Stadium鈥檚 field and a section of UNM women鈥檚 soccer鈥檚 practice field, courtesy of coach Heather Dyche.

Per Gonzales, UNM will start the first two days of practice with just helmets before three days with 鈥渟hells鈥� designed for impact reduction. That means the first day of full pads (and presumably live contact) since March is set for Wednesday, August 9. Their last full bore scrimmage is scheduled for August 19.

From the inbox: Aaron Rodriguez was one of 50 punters named to the 2023 Ray Guy Award preseason watch list on Monday. The honor comes after he averaged 44.2 yards per punt (good for 24th in the country) and led the nation in total punts.