Gonzales duo inks with Eastern New Mexico

Everything just clicked.

Cody Jurek and Landon Lock felt that way when they visited Eastern New Mexico last weekend. The Gonzales football duo liked the school so much that they signed a National Letter of Intent to play there for the next four years Wednesday at the Gonzales High School fieldhouse.

"I was told that when I found the right school that I would know it when I saw it," Lock said. "Everything clicked. It felt right when I went there."

Eastern New Mexico came into the picture on Friday when officials called Jurek and Lock to invite them up for a visit. The Jurek and Lock families caravanned 600 miles to Portales, NM to visit the school, and both players were sold.

"The whole atmosphere is good," Jurek said. "The professors were very helpful and there are new facilities. It was great all around."

Both players chose Eastern New Mexico over a host of schools. Cisco, Mary Hardin-Baylor and TLU also showed interest in Jurek, while Air Force, Cornell, Incarnate Word and Mary Hardin-Baylor all wanted Lock.

"This is a good thing for these guys and our school," Gonzales football coach/athletic director Ricky Lock said. "These guys are great students and they have a great opportunity to play college football and get their college education. It's also good for our younger players to see that they can do something like this, too."

The elder Lock has seen players sign Letters of Intent before, but Wednesday provided him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He saw his own son sign a Letter of Intent.

"It's a great feeling to see Landon sign," Lock said. "He always wanted to play college football, and now he gets to do that."

Both Jurek and Landon Lock played pivotal roles in Gonzales' two-year turnaround from 1-9 in 2009 to 11-1 this past year. Jurek started at offensive tackle and defensive tackle, while Lock started at inside linebacker and fullback.

Both players also earned Associated Press Sports Editors and Texas Sports Writers Association all-state accolades. Jurek made both all-state teams as an offensive tackle, while Lock was nominated to both as a linebacker.

While both players were two-way starters in high school, they will each play on one side of the football next fall. Jurek will play offensive tackle, while Lock will be a linebacker.

"I'm going to miss playing defense," Jurek said. "But it'll be a lot easier to play just offense as opposed to playing both offense and defense."

Jurek was a big part of the Apaches' success on both sides of the football. His blocking allowed Gonzales to gain more than 4,100 yards of total offense, while his presence on defense was a big part of the Apaches' ability to surrender just 111 points and 616 rushing yards the entire season.

Lock was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Jurek's defensive presence. While Jurek was often double- or triple-teamed, Lock was cleaning house to the tune of 157 total tackles.

While Lock's presence was more felt on defense, he still made an impact on offense. Though limited with his carries at the fullback position, Lock made plenty of key blocks in the open field to free up running room for Gonzales tailbacks.

With Josh Lynn taking over the reigns at Eastern New Mexico more than a month ago, Jurek and Lock will have a level-playing field when it comes to earn playing time. This is an opportunity both players are looking forward to.

"The coaches told me as of right now I'll see significant playing time on special teams," Lock said. "But I want to earn playing time on defense, too."

"I just have to prove myself," Jurek added. "I have to go as hard as I can every day in practice."

Eastern New Mexico is a member of the Lone Star Conference, and the school is the only member of the nine-team conference outside of Texas. The other schools in the LSC are Abilene Christian, Angelo State, Incarnate Word, Midwestern, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton and West Texas A&M.

With Sul Ross facing the Greyhounds in a nonconference game, nine of their 10 opponents hail from Texas. Five of Eastern New Mexico's games will take place in Texas - Incarnate Word (Cowboys Stadium) Sept. 14, at Tarleton Sept. 22, at Abilene Christian Oct. 6, at Midwestern Oct. 27 and at A&M-Kingsville Nov. 10.

"It'll be amazing to play at Cowboys Stadium," Jurek said. "We missed out on that opportunity this year, but that will be a great experience."

While Portales is approximately 600 miles from Gonzales, Lock is happy that he won't be a total stranger this fall.

"It'll be great to have Cody with me," Lock said. "He's been a good friend and a good teammate."

It looks like everything's going to click.