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UNM Football: Ex-Lobo urges team to `finish the job' in bowl
Lobos Awards
The following UNM football players were recognized during the Lobo Club's annual football banquet Thursday night:
Most valuable offensive scout team players: Freshman wide receiver Chris Hernandez and junior quarterback Bryan Clampitt
Most valuable defensive scout team player: Senior linebacker Beau Hightower
Red Menace fan appreciation award: Senior tight end Curtis Pino
Chuck Cummings award honoring most inspirational player: Pino
Outstanding offensive lineman: Senior offensive guard Robert Turner
Zia award honoring the most valuable New Mexico player: Kicker Kenny Byrd
Clyde Hill award honoring the most improved player: Junior wide receiver Marcus Smith and redshirt freshman quarterback Donovan Porterie
Outstanding special teams player: Byrd
Lobo Club award honoring unselfish devotion to the team: Senior Lobo Ben Wysong
Col. H.J. Golightly award honoring the most valuable defensive player: Senior Lobo Quincy Black
Reese Hill award honoring the most valuable offensive player: Sophomore running back Rodney Ferguson.
Bill Brannin award honoring the most valuable player: Ferguson
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People have written off former Lobo Terance Mathis a thousand times.
He was a short, skinny kid from Stone Mountain, Ga. No one thought he could play college football. Mathis accepted the challenge and became a star at the University of New Mexico.
He was the poor student everyone thought was a bust when he flunked out of school. Mathis clawed his way back onto the UNM roster after sitting out one season and became the Lobos' first consensus all American.
He was the wide receiver no one thought could succeed in the NFL. Mathis answered his critics again with a 13-year NFL career, spent mostly with the Atlanta Falcons, that included appearances in the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.
Mathis talked about his unlikely path to success during the UNM football team's annual banquet Thursday night.
He is on the brink of adding arguably the biggest and brightest chapter to his sports career.
Mathis is poised to become the first black owner to support the first consistent black driver at the top level of NASCAR racing.
"This is going to be as big or bigger than what Tiger Woods did for golf," Mathis said in an interview with The Tribune after his speech. "NASCAR already is huge, but it has a chance to explode within the black community."
Mathis is the owner of Victory MotorSports and signed Morty Buckles as his top driver. Mathis' company, which is based in Atlanta, is part of NASCAR's diversity initiative.
Buckles has competed at the lower levels of NASCAR, but Mathis said his driver is set to take on the elite Nextel Cup Series.
"All that's holding us back is a few sponsorships," Mathis said. "We're very close. I want to make sure we have the top level support before we get into competition because that's what you need to be successful. I am being very careful with this and don't want to jump in too soon. We could have started this already, but I know that as a black owner I only get one shot. I may be the only black owner who gets that shot for a long time."
The latest turns in Mathis' life mirrored the advice he gave during the UNM football banquet.
He encouraged the Lobos to face their critics and never back down from the challenges bound to come their way.
"Don't ever, as long as you live, let anyone tell you that you can't be whatever you want to be," Mathis said during his speech. ". . . It's not rocket science. You do right, you live right, you treat people right and good things happen."
Mathis said this marked his first formal visit with the UNM Athletics Department since 1989, when he completed his eligibility with the Lobos.
He set a Division I-A record for most receiving yards and became the first player to have more than 250 receptions, 4,000 yards receiving and 6,000 yards total offense.
Mathis told the current Lobos he takes immense pride in their progress and is ready to see them take the program to the next level, claiming conference championships and Bowl Championship Series berths.
He also urged them to make the most of their opportunity in the New Mexico Bowl, showing the nation UNM is a great football program.
"Finish the job," he told the players, a rally cry repeated throughout the night.
Mathis said he was nervous about visiting UNM after being away for so long but was welcomed with open arms. He pledged his support to the program and said he would do whatever he could to make UNM coach Rocky Long successful in the future.
"This has been so much better than I ever imagined possible," Mathis said after his speech. "It made me want to buy a house here in Albuquerque. My wife never wants to leave the South and my business is in Atlanta, but I know I'll be back a lot more often. And I'll be here to support the Lobos any time they need me."
