Ucla Aide Chosen To Coach At Unm

Rocky Long came home to Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday to the place his heart never left.

Long, a star quarterback at New Mexico 25 years ago and more recently UCLA’s defensive coordinator, was hired Saturday by the Lobos to succeed Dennis Franchione, who resigned last week to take the head coaching job at TCU.

“I’m having a little trouble with this because this is a dream come true for me,” a teary-eyed Long said after being introduced as coach. “I’m humbled to be here and so excited, I can’t hardly stand still.”

Athletic director Rudy Davalos said Long will receive a five-year contract with an annual salary “that will be in the $220,000 and $260,000 range.”

The financial details, however, didn’t seem to matter to Long, who renewed old acquaintances after arriving in Albuquerque by private jet Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve been offered a couple of other head coaching jobs in my career and turned them down right away,” Long said. “I’ve had an outstanding relationship the last two years with UCLA, which is a fine program and probably the best job I ever had - until today.”

Long takes over a New Mexico program finishing up its best season since 1982 and headed for its first bowl game in 36 years. The Lobos (9-3) will play Arizona (6-5) in the Insight.com Bowl next Saturday at Tucson.

In six seasons, Franchione transformed one of the worst football programs in the West to one that’s now considered an emerging force in the Western Athletic Conference. Franchione coached the Lobos to three winning seasons since 1993, and this season the Lobos won the Mountain Division of the WAC.

Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is out of the hospital and will probably be back at practice next Saturday in Miami.

Manning, hospitalized since Monday with an infection in his right knee, dropped by drills Saturday but did not practice.

Joe Jurevicius, Penn State’s top receiver, will not play in the Citrus Bowl because of academic problems, school officials announced.