近距离内射合集

New Mexico might be particularly keen in rooting for the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.

Remarkably, there are six members of the team, either players or coaches, with New Mexico ties who are headed to Santa Clara, California, as Seattle faces New England on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Five of the six played their high school football in New Mexico. Three are former players at Eastern New Mexico. The six represent Albuquerque, Farmington, Clovis and Portales. Given New Mexico鈥檚 rather modest football roots, it鈥檚 an astonishing number to be attached to a single Super Bowl roster.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been crazy,鈥� said Bryce Cabeldue, a rookie offensive lineman for the Seahawks and also a former Clovis High Wildcat. 鈥淣ew Mexico is definitely not known for its football.鈥�

The Journal this week caught up with former La Cueva star Connor O鈥橳oole, plus Cabeldue, ex-St. Pius star Mike Byrne, who is a running backs coach, and Jeff Howard, a one-time standout from Portales and longtime NFL assistant coach who coaches the Seahawks' safeties.

Seattle also has two strength and conditioning coaches 鈥� Tim Ojeda and Thomas Garcia 鈥� with New Mexico ties.

Connor O鈥橳oole

The former La Cueva and University of Utah standout is a special teams member for the Seahawks. He is on the field for the big four of special teams: punts, punt returns, kickoffs and kickoff returns.

Earlier this year, he recovered a fumble on a national TV game against Washington. Two weekends ago, he threw a key block that delivered teammate Rashid Shaheed for a game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown in the divisional round against San Francisco.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of crazy, huh?鈥� O鈥橳oole said, contemplating the list of New Mexicans employed by Seattle.

As this conversation took place, O鈥橳oole said he was waist-deep in preparations, like finding game tickets for family.

鈥淭hings move so fast,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou look up and dang, we鈥檙e really going to the Super Bowl. It鈥檚 a childhood dream of everybody, and it鈥檚 something you never envision for yourself.鈥�

O鈥橳oole鈥檚 participation is especially unique, since he was an undrafted free agent coming out of Utah. But he earned his way onto the 53-man roster and made himself invaluable to the cause for the Seahawks.

鈥淚magine winning the Super Bowl your first year in the NFL,鈥� O鈥橳oole said, thinking ahead. 鈥淭o be able to sit here and be lucky enough to do that.鈥�

O鈥橳oole said Seattle veterans were talking enthusiastically about their title hopes back in the summer.

鈥淚 remember sitting in meetings during training camp, and the vets were talking about, this is the year for us to win the Super Bowl,鈥� O鈥橳oole said. 鈥淭o watch that belief come to life, has been really cool.鈥�

O鈥橳oole has been a proverbial sponge since he arrived in Seattle, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been awesome. In college, you start out as a freshman, but by senior year, guys are looking to you, like you鈥檙e responsible for setting the standard,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his year, taking that rookie role where our (defensive line) has so many experienced veterans, I could sit back and learn from.鈥�

It has, O鈥橳oole opined, been a combination of all three phases for Seattle: an offense spearheaded by QB Sam Darnold, a top-five defense and outstanding special teams.

鈥淎ll three phases clicked so often,鈥� O鈥橳oole said. He also spent a couple of weeks on the field-goal block team.

One important question that had to be asked: Was there any decent green chile to be found in Seattle? The Journal asked this of O鈥橳oole, Howard, Cabeldue and Byrne; the consensus was, it could be found if one looked hard enough.

鈥淵ou鈥檇 be shocked,鈥� O鈥橳oole said. 鈥淚n New Mexico, there鈥檚 a breakfast burrito place on every block. You come to a place like this, it鈥檚 not the same.鈥�

Mike Byrne

Byrne, 40, is an assistant running backs coach for the Seahawks. Once upon a time, he was a stellar offensive skill-position athlete for St. Pius X (2004 graduate) and coach San Juan Mendoza.

He鈥檚 been in the NFL for only two seasons. He coached with Klint Kubiak with the Saints in 2024, then joined Seattle (as did Kubiak) almost exactly a year ago.

鈥淎fter coaching college and recruiting and everything like that, you鈥檙e all over the map. To have (this many) guys at a pretty high level, it鈥檚 pretty wild, and it makes it all the more sweeter,鈥� he said.

Byrne has had a varied career. He worked for Pro Football Focus as an analyst, and he was the director of football analytics at Pacific Lutheran where he was once an all-conference quarterback in 2008. He also has two coaching stints at Texas A&M, and a short stay at West Texas A&M.

The NFL has been a whirlwind, Byrne said.

鈥淚鈥檓 as green as it gets when it comes to this stuff,鈥� he said.

But he said it was pretty obvious early on that the Seahawks had something unique brewing this season.

鈥淟ike, you know, we can, if we take care of ourselves, we can hang with anyone,鈥� he said of an early observation. 鈥淭he best thing is that our head coach (Mike MacDonald), he gives structure, regimen, the attitude and focus. It helps you set up a really good routine.鈥�

Although he has little family remaining in Albuquerque, Byrne said he continues to follow the exploits of his high school alma mater.

Byrne, who grew up in Paradise Hills, spends game days with the Seahawks in the booth upstairs. When Seattle closed out the Rams in the NFC Championship game, he said he practically sprinted down to the locker room.

And now, he鈥檚 in the Super Bowl.

鈥淕rowing up in New Mexico, it鈥檚 something you just saw on TV,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 see Brett Favre and John Elway and Troy Aikman and Tom Brady, and you鈥檙e like, so cool.鈥�

He said he hadn鈥檛 quite wrapped his head around coaching in the Super Bowl.

鈥淚 can hardly comprehend what next week is,鈥� Byrne said. 鈥淚 live in such the moment. What are the immediate tasks to get done?鈥�

His mind turned to his wife and children.

鈥淪haring those moments with my family, especially my kids 鈥� I鈥檓 gonna be watching them enjoy these moments (at the Super Bowl) more than being in my own moment,鈥� he said.

Bryce Cabeldue

The ex-Clovis High and University of Kansas offensive lineman will unfortunately not be participating in Super Bowl XL. He was placed on injured reserve (knee) two days ahead of the Seahawks鈥� NFC Championship contest against the Rams.

That makes him unable to suit up for the Super Bowl. But the sixth-round draft pick (No. 192 overall) will be gleefully along for the ride, to be sure.

鈥淔ootball-wise, it鈥檚 been a crazy journey,鈥� said Cabeldue, 24, a 2020 graduate of Clovis. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 really been amazing.鈥�

The Clovis-born Cabeldue was an all-conference lineman for the Jayhawks 鈥� New Mexico was once seriously in the mix to sign him and he said he was going to commit to UNM before the offer from Kansas 鈥� but admitted he was didn't expect to be drafted. And he found himself even more surprised to be on this magic carpet ride with Seattle. Of note, he and O鈥橳oole were district rivals once in high school.

鈥淚 kind of knew he鈥檇 be an NFL player because of how good he was,鈥� Cabeldue said. 鈥淭his is a pretty special moment for the both of us.鈥�

Cabeldue finished his rookie season with 56 snaps played between offense and special teams. He appeared in roughly half of Seattle鈥檚 17 regular-season games.

鈥淩eally, my goal was to go in there and get as good as I possibly can, soak up as much knowledge as I possibly can,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omething you learn in your first year is how your process goes.鈥�

He echoed O鈥橳oole as they spoke of the value of being around veterans, all of whom, both said, seemed to have a sense that this Seattle team was onto something.

鈥淥ne thing every person has said,鈥� Cabeldue said, 鈥渋s that this team is different. Another thing. It doesn鈥檛 matter who you are on the roster. Everyone treats everyone exactly the same.鈥�

As for what he鈥檚 most looking forward to as Seattle gets ready to board a plane Sunday bound for Santa Clara, Cabeldue couldn鈥檛 say for sure.

鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 feel real,鈥� he said.

Jeff Howard

Howard, 43 and a 2001 Portales High grad, is a veteran of over a dozen NFL seasons as an assistant coach. He coached with Minnesota, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Chargers before joining the Seahawks in February 2024.

Howard was a standout high school player in Portales, and then later at nearby Eastern New Mexico where he was an All-American linebacker. His No. 3 jersey number was retired by ENMU in 2006, and he is a member of the Greyhounds鈥� Hall of Honors.

鈥淚鈥檝e been in the NFL for 13 years, and I definitely haven鈥檛 had this many New Mexico (connections) on a team,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of cool.鈥�

Howard quickly ascended to the NFL following his playing days. He coached four years at Odessa (Texas) Permian, joined Texas Tech鈥檚 staff in 2011, became the Red Raiders鈥� safeties coach in 2012 and was coaching with the Minnesota Vikings the next year.

It鈥檚 no surprise he delved into coaching; his father, Mike, was a longtime football coach and he grew up spending Friday nights and Saturdays hanging around the teams his father coached. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything else,鈥� he said.

His original plan was to become a doctor, since he had a degree in biology and chemistry. 

鈥淏ut once I finished playing football, for the first time in my life I wasn鈥檛 associated with a team. It was so different, and I didn鈥檛 really like it,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淎nd I thought, maybe I should go coach.鈥�

His entrance into the NFL tied in to his father鈥檚 coaching relationship with Leslie Frazier at what was then called Trinity College in suburban Chicago. Frazier had become Minnesota鈥檚 head coach when he hired Howard, and Howard spent seven seasons in Minneapolis under Frazier and then later Mike Zimmer. Then Howard moved on to Cleveland, then the Chargers, and now the Seahawks where Seattle was basically one of the NFL's elite defenses all season.

鈥淚 think I just felt this overwhelming sense of accomplishment,鈥� Howard said, when asked about his emotions as it became clear Seattle was headed to the Super Bowl. 鈥淎nd gratitude for being part of such a special team. These opportunities don鈥檛 come around often.鈥�

Howard鈥檚 wife, Laci, was also an outstanding athlete at Portales and ENMU, and she once coached basketball at Permian.

Howard and Ojeda, a strength and conditioning coach for Seattle, were once teammates at ENMU. Another interesting tidbit: Howard鈥檚 sister-in-law once taught Cabeldue at Clovis.

Tim Ojeda, Thomas Garcia

Ojeda, from Riverside County in California, did not play his high school football here, but he did play linebacker at ENMU from 2005-06. He was added to the Seahawks staff as a strength and conditioning assistant last April after serving 14 seasons as the strength and conditioning coach at USC. He鈥檚 worked in that capacity with various teams in football, volleyball and water polo.

He was the outside linebackers coach at Eastern prior to moving to USC.

Garcia, 46, was born in Farmington and played football at Farmington High School, where he graduated in 1997, but didn't play beyond his time with the Scorpions. He has been with Seattle for seven seasons; the first six, he was a sports science specialist. He, like Ojeda, is a strength and conditioning assistant for the Seahawks. He also has experience working for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe, plus the University of Florida and Texas Tech, and also MLB鈥檚 San Francisco Giants.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .