UNM FOOTBALL
Lobos lose tight ends coach Jared Elliott to Illinois
Elliott is fourth assistant to leave UNM this offseason, third to join Big Ten program
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Only a few weeks after getting their staff back to full strength, the Lobos are in the market for another assistant.
New Mexico tight ends coach Jared Elliott has been hired in the same role at Illinois, the program announced Friday.
The 39-year-old spent one season with UNM, coaching a tight ends room viewed as one of the strengths of the offense. He notably helped develop Dorian Thomas into one of the most productive tight ends in the country and a first-time All-Mountain West selection.
Elliott joins former UNM special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato (Minnesota), wide receivers coach Colin Lockett (UCLA) and running backs coach John Johnson (Iowa State) as the fourth assistant from last year’s coaching staff to depart for a Power Four school, and the third to join a program in the Big Ten.
"My family and I are beyond grateful and blessed to join the Illinois football famILLy," Elliott said in a release from Illinois. "We will pour everything we have into our players, this program, and the (Champaign, Illinois) community. It was very clear throughout this process that the quality of people that (head coach Bret Bielema) has built the program on is second to none, and we can't wait to be a part of it."
Hired in January 2025, Elliott joined the Lobos after stops at Ball State and Western Illinois, where he was the head coach from 2018-21. He oversaw a tight end room that accounted for 855 receiving yards, in no small part due to Thomas’ 56 catches for 560 yards — the third-best mark among all tight ends in the country.
Elliott also helped develop Cade Keith (20 receptions, 253 yards, 3 touchdowns) into one of the Lobos’ best receiving threats after he transferred in from TCU. The redshirt freshman notably scored the game-winning touchdown in a 23-17 double-overtime triumph over San Diego State, a win that vaulted UNM into a tie for first place in the Mountain West regular season standings.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
