Just as the first spring practice ended for the University of New Mexico football team on Tuesday, graduate assistant and former Lobo Byron Bell met with the media, holding a couple of TV microphones while a familiar voice playfully teased him from behind.
“Big time,” UNM offensive line coach Jason Lenzmeier shouted a couple of times.
Fifteen years ago, Lenzmeier was shouting out other things to push Bell to become big time. But times have changed.
Bell, who played eight years in the NFL, is now learning to be a coach while lending his expertise, accumulated during a career which included 83 starts and 102 games played in the NFL.