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Frankie Solomon isn't afraid to say it.

"I'm a mama's boy," he said. "I'll be honest and tell everyone I'm a mama's boy. My mama made me who I am today, and I talk to her at least twice a day. She means everything to me and I play football to make her proud."

Solomon is a scrawny sophomore safety on the University of New Mexico football team who has done an awful lot this season to make his mama proud.

He leads the team with two interceptions and three broken-up passes. Solomon made a game-changing play at Arizona, picking off quarterback Willie Tuitama to end the Wildcats' final possession and help seal UNM's 29-27 win, its first over a Pac-10 team since 1979.

"I think I've played better because I got a little complacent and lost my starting job in fall camp (to Tyson Ditmore)," he said.

"That was the worst feeling in the world. I knew I had to stop acting so cocky and work harder. I pushed myself like I did my freshman year and earned back my spot. I feel like I have to push myself every single day to keep it."

Solomon, who is 5-foot-10 and weighs a paltry 173 pounds, doesn't look the part of a playmaker in the secondary.

He's tiny next to even the slimmest wide receivers and cornerbacks.

Solomon credits his mother, Melissa Neugent, with helping him overcome his diminutive stature to become a Division I football player.

"My mom was the one who first got me into football," Solomon said. "I had some anger management issues. I used to get real angry and was real hard to control, so she figured football would be a great way for me to channel my anger. She knew I was small, but she figured I could hold my own. She always believed in me."

Solomon probably looked like he would topple over from the weight of a helmet and shoulder pads at age 6, but he was a ball of fire on the field.

His mother's grand plan worked, and Solomon learned to channel his anger into football.

Despite the burden of being a single mother, chasing after Solomon's siblings and working to support the family, Solomon said his mother was there for every big game of his life.

"We live in Dallas, but she still tries to get to every football game," he said. "She always has been there cheering me on. She was a tomboy growing up and she played football when she was younger, so she loves watching the games."

Solomon continued channeling his rage on the football field at UNM.

He was one of the rare players in coach Rocky Long's program to earn playing time as a true freshman.

"A lot of people underestimate me, and I love that because it gives me a chance to make plays," Solomon said. "When I first got here I really did not want to sit out a year like everyone else. I figured if I kept working hard in practices and hit people hard enough, the coaches would have to let me play."

Solomon got the playing time he desperately wanted, but then he began stressing out over his No. 96 jersey.

He coveted No. 7, but the Lobos only had numbers in the 90s available. Those numbers are usually reserved for beefy linemen, but Long refused to let a lowly freshman quibble over his number.

"When you're a freshman, you don't get to choose," Long said.

Solomon wanted to change numbers before the start of this season, but his mother intervened.

"She told me to keep it because it's unique and makes me stand out, not that I don't want to be a team player or anything," he said. "It just helps her find me on the field because I'm the only little guy in the back with a big number.

"My brother likes it a lot, too. He is playing high school football and got the same number even though he's a wide receiver. It worked out. Now we're all going to be different."

Solomon also is a different man in the classroom.

Despite a fiery streak, Solomon's mother made sure he stayed focused on his school work.

"When I was in high school, I knew my mom wouldn't let me play football if I didn't get B's or higher," he said. "Other guys worried about C's, but I had to get at least a B. And she wasn't always happy with the B's."

Solomon kept up the good grades when he got to college. He was named an All-Mountain West Conference honoree his freshman year while majoring in civil engineering. He is considering changing his major to business, but Solomon said he has to maintain good grades no matter what he studies.

"She may be all the way in Dallas, but I know my mama will get on a plane real fast if I slip up," he said. "I'm like at a 3.5 or 3.4 (grade-point average) right now, and I don't think I can let it go any lower without getting in trouble. She always has emphasized education, and she means business.

"Football is tough, but my mama is tougher."