Apr. 1—New Mexico's quarterback competition is down to four players.
UNM quarterback Emery Floyd was moved to wide receiver this week, taking reps on the perimeter for the first time during Tuesday's practice.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt junior opened spring as one of UNM's five quarterbacks competing for the starting job, and took snaps under center as recently as Saturday. But with James Laubstein and an injured Jack Layne considered the frontrunners to start — and UNM's receiving depth in question — Floyd was moved to a new position midway through spring practice.
"It was looking like he was not a strong candidate to be in our top three at quarterback," Eck said Tuesday, "And he's athletic — when (director of strength and conditioning Caleb Heim) has done athletic testing, he's one of the more athletic guys on our roster ... I thought he had a better chance to be in the two-deep at receiver than at the two-deep at quarterback."
A Tampa, Florida native, Floyd transferred to UNM last May after throwing for 1,917 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions in one season at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif. He spent almost all of last fall splitting third-string duties with Laubstein and appeared in one game on special teams.
Floyd said he wanted to continue playing quarterback ("That's where my heart's at," he said) but credited the rest of the wide receivers for embracing him early in his transition.
"That was just amazing," he added after Tuesday's practice. "(There's) some wonderful guys in there ... It's hard doing something that you've been doing your whole life, and then it gets switched in an instant. Everybody did a great job of just showing me love, keeping me up and just keeping my head in it."
Floyd represents perhaps the most notable position change this spring, but far from the only one: Tight end Max Lantzsch was moved back to defensive line this week for the second time in his UNM career. The 6-6, 253-pound redshirt junior joined the program from East Carolina as a tight end and was shifted to defensive end last season before Eck's staff moved him back this spring.
"We kind of had this plan all along ... I didn't think he was in our top three tight ends through the first six practices," Eck said. "And three tight ends is usually what plays a lot. So I said, 'hey, we're a little thin at defensive tackle, let's move you over there.'"
INJURY REPORT: Offensive lineman Elvin Harris missed Tuesday's practice after a "freak thing" where a weight fell on his foot, Eck said. The 6-6, 324-pound redshirt sophomore was in the mix for one of the starting tackle spots before suffering the injury; offensive lineman Travis Gray largely received reps in his place Tuesday.
"It's not broken — which is good," Eck said of Harris' injury. "So I think we have hopes that we'll get him back (this spring)."
Running backs Deshaun Buchanan and D.J. McKinney also missed Tuesday's practice with hamstring injuries, per Eck.
WELCOME TO ALBUQUERQUE: Eck knew Eric Olen before he was UNM's new men's basketball coach — sort of. In the months before his family moved out to Albuquerque, Eck stayed in a hotel and passed the time at night by watching college basketball, particularly conference tournament games.
One game in particular caught his eye: the Big West tournament championship between UC San Diego and UC Irvine, clinching the Tritons' — and Olen's — first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth.
"That was a good late-night game," Eck said. "(UCSD) played (UCI) in the championship and then I saw some of their (NCAA ...
