UNM football notebook: How a former 4-star high school recruit found the new start he was looking for in Albuquerque

Aug. 9—It was a risk. Randolph Kpai will tell you as much.

Before joining New Mexico this summer, the former top-rated recruit out of South Dakota spent the first three years of his career at Nebraska without playing a single game. There wasn’t one determining factor in his decision to enter the transfer portal; a lingering shoulder injury and “the business side of things” both played a role, but by the end of last December, he knew he needed a fresh start.

Where from, he didn’t know. The jarring differences between his prep recruitment out of Washington High School in Sioux Falls — when Power Five schools inundated him with offers — compared to light recruitment in the portal weren’t lost on him.

“While I was at Nebraska, I really hadn’t done anything, you know?” the 6-foot-3, 221-pound linebacker said. “I was injured my first year, second year (I was on) scout team, third year injury again. So it’s like, I didn’t have much to show.

“There (was) a lot of risk involved with (UNM) taking the chance on me, you know — because I really haven’t been on the field. I haven’t proven anything yet.”

Thirteen practices in, it looks as if that risk is starting to pay off for UNM. After spending spring away from football, Kpai was one of 43 players to earn his jersey number (33) over the first two weeks of fall camp. He’s accrued more and more playing time, making a steady impact at both the Mike and Buck spots in UNM’s defense.

“He’s done a really good job,” special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Shane Hunter said on Tuesday. “I mean, he’s a kid who’s been in college football — he understands it, he knows how to play, does a really good job of running around trying to make plays.”

“He’s a dog right there,” safety Christian Ellis said last Saturday. “He’s gonna run to the ball — like, he’s gonna run all the way…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/unm-football-notebook-former-4-030100911.html

Author : Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Publish date : 2024-08-10 03:01:00

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