Peterson has his work cut out for him taking over a defense that didn’t finish better than 10th in the MW in total defense, run defense or pass defense last season. Making it an even tougher chore is the fact UNM only returns one starter to a unit that gave up 36.2 points per game — fourth-most in the league.

With that comes the loss of the Lobos’ top nine tacklers from last year, but UNM will get some reinforcements with the returns of linebacker Alex Hart and defensive lineman Trent Sellers, who are both back from season-ending knee injuries. Hart, who played the first three games last season, will rejoin a linebacking corps that includes Brandon Shook, who had 40 tackles and two sacks a season ago.

The other side of the ball is far more experienced with UNM returning seven starters to an offense that’s looking for more production after scoring just 26.6 points per game last season. But Davie first has to decide on a starting quarterback among Tevaka Tuioti, Sheriron Jones, Trae Hall and Brandt Hughes. Tuioti and Jones both took snaps last season and accounted for 2,242 total yards, Hall is coming off a redshirt year, and Hughes joined the competition in the spring as a junior college transfer.