NMSU Defense flexes muscle at spring game

The 2016 spring game gave Aggie fans something to look forward to on Saturday, as the defense flexed its muscle against the offense.

The defense finished with three sacks, two interceptions (one for a touchdown) and two forced fumbles (one recovered).

The first fumble came in the second quarter when Brett Kowalski knocked the ball loss from Xavier Hall. Luckily, Hall was able to recover the ball. The offense (Crimson) eventually found its way into the end zone when King Burke powered his way in.

Conner Cramer, playing in front of the Aggie faithful for the first time, wound up orchestrating both scoring drives for NM State. The first drive was a 17-play, 90-yard drive in the second series and then again in the third on a 14-play, 80-yard drive.

The fourth quarter came with some more excitement from the defense as Noah Brown intercepted Cramer’s pass and took it the other way to the house for 34 yards with 10:02 left in the game.

Tyler Rogers looked sharp in his return, completing 7-of-13 passes for 158 yards – including a 55-yard bomb to first-year Aggie Jonathan Boone. Boone, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa, displayed his ability to be a deep threat as he finished with 138 yards on eight catches.

The senior quarterback also connected on the deep ball to Tyrian Taylor for 46 yards in the first quarter. The offense settled for field goal on the same drive. Taylor finished the day with 89 yards while Gregory Hogan hauled in 91 yards on eight receptions.

Cramer was efficient from the pocket for NM State, converting 22-of-28 passes for 173 yards. Nick Jeanty also finished with 102 total passing yards, completing 12-of-22 passes with one pick.

Burke played with a lot of power on the run, finishing with 105 net yards on 19 carries – including a 48-yard run to go with his two touchdowns. Hall saw a large amount of carries, totaling 58 yards on 17 carries.