NMSU's Tony Sanchez expects to contend for bowl appearance, 'fight' for conference title

If last season was a disappointment for New Mexico State, Tony Sanchez believes he knows exactly why.

“I got to give our guys credit — they played hard,” NMSU’s head coach said Tuesday at Conference USA Media Days in Frisco, Texas. “We just didn’t have much firepower.”

But if it hasn’t already, Sanchez believes that’s set to change. Entering his second season leading the Aggies, NMSU (3-9 in 2024) brought in 54 new players to help address several positions of need, particularly on an offense that averaged 21.6 points per game last year.

The expectation now?

“Get our butt in a bowl game (and) let’s fight for a conference championship,” Sanchez said. “I know the parity in this conference, and there’s not a huge margin between anybody — we’re excited about it.”

To get there, NMSU will need significantly more production from a revamped quarterback room. With last year’s starting spot a “revolving door,” the Aggies return only Parker Awad to a room headlined by Montana transfer Logan Fife, one of five Aggies selected to the CUSA’s preseason watch list.

A sixth-year senior, Fife passed for 3,470 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over the last five seasons at Fresno State and Montana. His career-best 1,855 passing yards and 14 touchdowns last year with the Grizzlies surpassed NMSU’s total production from four different quarterbacks in 2024.

“You know, as a quarterback, that you’re gonna have to be a leader … He’s got that presence. He’s got that pull, and people wanna be around him,” Sanchez said of Fife. “That’s one of the reasons we brought him here and he’s gonna be our starting quarterback because of what he did in the spring.”

NMSU also overhauled last season’s “depleted” wide receiver room, bringing in six transfers, and replacing two second team All-CUSA running backs with transfers Dijon Stanley Jr. (Utah) and Kadarius Calloway (Cal). Sanchez compared Stanley (66 yards last season) to former NMSU running back Monte Watkins, a speedy regular in the Aggies’ backfield over the last few years.

“(We’re) kind of (holding) true to what we’ve done the last bunch of years. (Running back Star Thomas), you lose him and then you get Seth McGowan to come in behind him,” Sanchez said. “ … We’ve got some guys, and I’m excited about that. Not knocking any of them, but that’s a position where there’s a lot of talent out there in this country.

“Wide receivers, running backs, you can find them if you do your due diligence. And I think — knock on wood — I think we found them again.”

A new set of eyes should help, too. Sanchez said new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach David Yost has been “phenomenal” in his first year with the program, after spending the last three seasons at conference rival Florida International.

Yost previously served as the offensive coordinator at Missouri, Texas Tech and Utah State, where he helped develop current Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and coached against Sanchez at UNLV.

“That was one of the biggest things. I wanted to hire an OC, but I wanted to hire a guy who developed quarterbacks,” Sanchez said. “ … He’s just got a wealth of knowledge, and I just felt like we needed a guy that had been around the block a little bit.”