UNM football: Safety Tavian Combs to return for sixth season

The Lobos got a little Christmas present out of the portal.

New Mexico announced the return of safety Tavian Combs on Wednesday via a post on social media.

The 2021 All-Mountain West honorable mention safety committed to Louisiana-Monroe after entering the transfer portal in earlier this month. But he decided instead to return for his sixth season with the Lobos, providing a veteran presence in the secondary for first-year head coach Jason Eck.

One of UNM’s most productive players when healthy, Combs missed all but one game last season recovering from lower body injuries suffered in 2023. The Amarillo, Texas, native has not played a full season since 2021; he has two years of eligibility remaining.

Combs is one of a handful of players to withdraw from the portal since Eck’s hiring on Dec. 14. Starting right guard Richard Pearce and backup center Malik Aliane both announced their decisions to return to UNM in the weeks after the former Idaho coach’s hiring, the byproduct of retention efforts Eck spoke about at his introductory press conference.

Nearly 20 Lobos are still in the portal, with high-profile players such as quarterback Devon Dampier (Utah), running back Eli Sanders (USC) and center McKenzie Agnello (Houston) finding new homes since former head coach Bronco Mendenhall left for Utah State.

“There’s a big difference if a guy’s in the portal because this wasn’t a fit for him personally, or he didn’t like the academic programs or he didn’t like the community — or, you know, there’s an issue and he wants to get closer to home,” Eck told the Journal on Dec. 17. “There’s a big difference between those guys and guys who maybe are in the portal just because they’re scared of the unknown. …

“And that’s what I’m trying to figure out (by) asking them questions … just trying to be honest about the direction that I see this program going in and letting them know that we’d love to have (them) back with us and we’d welcome (them).”