For Ray Iwai and University of New Mexico football, it was all about the tape.
Iwai’s high school recruiting tape highlights the talents of a small (5-foot-5, 170 pounds) but fast and elusive running back with no fear of contact and with a nose for the goal line.
But, regarding UNM, there was this one tiny obstacle: Iwai played his high school ball in Japan, his native country. How could he possibly come to the Lobos’ attention?
Happily for all parties involved, there’s another kind of tape.
Mike Good, who played linebacker at UNM for coach Mike Sheppard from 1988-91, works in Albuquerque for Kinesio, a firm that manufactures a widely used therapeutic tape developed in Japan.