National Signing Day: What to know about UNM football's 51-player class

Dragging his finger down a list of names, Jason Eck admitted he wasn’t quite able to get through all of them.

“It’s tough to go through 51 guys,” New Mexico’s head coach chuckled during a press conference Wednesday.

Hard to argue.

Eck did, however, roll through the highlights in announcing UNM’s monstrous 51-player signing class, far and away the largest in recent memory and his first with the program.

The Lobos landed 34 transfers and 17 prep signees, including three from California, Texas and New Mexico, two from Arizona, Washington and Oregon and one from Wisconsin and Illinois each. Eck, the former head coach at Idaho, said UNM won’t recruit the northwest as heavily, but will instead focus on California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.

“New Mexico is probably going to be a one of those states that, unless you’re at one of those (Power Four) schools that can fly in with a private jet for a day to see a top guy, it’s not going to get hammered by the Group of Five and FCS schools,” he added. “I think we can find some good value in-state.”

Of the Lobos’ 34 transfer additions, Eck singled out players like Montana State transfer Scottre Humphrey, the frontrunner in a suddenly-crowded running back room. The sophomore earned first team All-Big Sky honors last season after rushing for 16 touchdowns 1,386 yards – including 140 in a 35-31 win over UNM – and committed to the Lobos over Ole Miss, Virginia Tech and Boise State.

“The three years at Idaho, (Humphrey was) probably the best back we played against in that time,” Eck said. “Out of our new guys, (he’s) probably the one who’s played the best in University Stadium.”

Eck added that future classes won’t be nearly as transfer-heavy, but the 34 were needed to help establish “equilibrium” on the roster this season. UNM lost upwards of 20 players to the transfer portal, including quarterback Devon Dampier, leading receiver Luke Wysong and the bulk of its starting offensive line.

“And there’ll be some positions – I think defensive tackle is one that really stands out to me where we’re gonna have to be active in the late portal window after spring ball,” he continued. “We were able to pick up a few guys on campus as walk-ons to help our tight end and (defensive) tackle depth, which I think are two areas that we’ll need to address even further.”

Days like Wednesday won’t be nearly as big when it comes to prep signees, either. Like most programs, Eck said UNM will get back to signing the majority of its prep prospects during the early window – so long as it's kept in place.

“In the future, I’d probably think we’re only signing a couple guys at this date,” he added.

Transfer additions (34)

- LB Albert Nunes (Northern Iowa)

- RB Damon Bankston (Weber State)

- DL Keyshawn James-Newby (Idaho)

- QB Jack Layne (Idaho)

- CB Abraham Williams (Idaho)

- QB Gabriel Motschenbacher (L.A. Southwest College)

- RB D.J. McKinney (Sam Houston State)

- CB Jayden Sheridan (Utah Tech)

- WR Isaiah Blair (Cerritos Junior College)

- CB Franke Edwards III (Weber State)

- WR Keagan Johnson (Kansas State)

- LB Jaxton Eck (Idaho)

- TE Dorian Thomas (Arizona)

- RB Deshaun Buchanan (Idaho)

- S Clint Stephens (UCLA)

- EDGE Darren Agu (Vanderbilt)

- TE Aiden Valdez (Campbell)

- DL Xavier Slayton (Idaho)

- S Austin Brawley (Ohio)

- RB Scottre Humphrey (Montana State)

- CB Azariah Levells (Stephen F. Austin University)

- RB Takeshi Faupula (Butte College)

- TE Keayan Nead (Weber State)

- LS Trey Dubuc (South Florida)

- OL R.J. Adams (North Carolina A&T)

- OL Kaden Robnett (Idaho)

- OL Israel Mukwiza (Mercer)

- OL Nevell Brown (Alabama A&M)

- TE Cade Keith (TCU)

- DL Brian Booker (Texas Southern)

- OL Mason Jones (Bucknell)

- OL Tyler Lawrence (Air Force)

OL Jordan Mora (Cerritos Junior College)

Prep signees (17)

New Mexico (3)

- DL Carlos Barela (La Cueva High School)

- LB Thomas Pettus (Volcano Vista High School)

- WR Mikey Beck (Farmington High School)

California (3)

- QB Toa Faave (De La Salle High School)

- S CJ McBean (Gardena Serra High School)

- OL Marko Luera (Glendora High School)

Texas (3)

- RB Darrion Bowers (Arlington Bowie High School)

- S Keshawn Monroe (Westfield High School)

- S Nick Wheeler (Parish Episcopal School)

Arizona (2)

- WR Deriece Brown (Verrado High School)

- DL James Marshall V (Westwood High School)

Washington (2)

- OL Jaymar Tasi (Roosevelt High School)

- DL Cody Thumlert (Eastside Catholic School)

Oregon (2)

- WR Zhaiel Smith (Tualatin High School)

- DL Jake DeVos (Vale High School)

Wisconsin (1)

- OL Blake Ryan (Middleton High School)

Illinois (1)

- DL Jack Burzynski (Barrington High School)

Extra points

LOCAL SIGNEE: One of UNM’s three in-state commitments, Volcano Vista High School linebacker Thomas Pettus said a simple approach worked in landing his commitment.

“They were man-to-man with me,” he told the Journal on Wednesday. “They said, ‘we’re gonna keep it real, it’s gonna be hard work playing here.’ I like how they just kept it real … (they’re) just some really good coaches, and I like their coaching history.”

IT'S OFFICIAL: Beau Davidson is UNM’s new general manager. After news of his impending hire dropped Monday, Eck said the former Memphis GM arrived in Albuquerque on Wednesday and will be “full-time worried about” building the roster via the portal and prep ranks, player retention and NIL coordination.

“I really liked his experience at Memphis last year,” he added. “Being at the Group of Five level is valuable, too – because it’s different. Our revenue share and NIL’s gonna be different than the Power Four level, but they were doing it as well as anybody … to get a guy with his background and caliber is really gonna help us direct our recruiting and retention efforts.”

POSITION CHANGE: As UNM continues to evaluate its roster, Eck indicated most position changes would take place during spring practice. One player is already starting the shift: West Mesa graduate Elijah Brody.

“He’s up to 215 pounds already, so we’re looking at him playing some Will linebacker in our scheme,” Eck said. “I’ve always liked that profile of trying to take athletic guys and trying to move them down, whether it’s an athletic linebacker going to the D-line or an athletic DB going to linebacker.”

ELIGIBILITY GRANTED: A program spokesperson confirmed linebacker Dimitri Johnson (77 total tackles, two sacks, one interception) will return, courtesy of the extra year granted to former JUCO and NAIA athletes.

A handful of other players – cornerback Cam Watts, offensive lineman Jawaun Singletary and defensive lineman Garrison Walker among them – are also in the process of getting waivers approved to play next season.

SPRING PRACTICE: UNM’s first spring practice under Eck is scheduled to start March 11, with a spring game slated for Friday, April 18. A full practice schedule has not been released.