UNM football: QB Devon Dampier named to All-Mountain West first team

New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier was named to the All-Mountain West first team on Tuesday, headlining a group of nine Lobos named to the league’s all-conference units.

UNM left guard Baraka Beckett joined Dampier on the first team while wide receiver Luke Wysong and center McKenzie Agnello were selected to the second team.

Safeties Noah Avinger and Christian Ellis, running back Eli Sanders, tight end Trace Bruckler and defensive tackle Bryce Santana were All-Mountain West honorable mentions after the Lobos finished 5-7 in head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s first season at the helm.

“They’re all deserving and qualified and capable,” Mendenhall said during a press conference Monday. “And I hope they’re happy and fulfilled to just have the acknowledgement of their peers — that’s a great compliment. I’m lucky to be all those kids’ (coach).”

The first quarterback in program history to earn first All-Mountain West honors, Dampier threw for 2,768 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his first year as the primary starter. The sophomore is UNM’s first signal caller to rush for 1,000-plus yards in a season, and broke Stoney Case’s previous program record for total offense.

Dampier rushed for 100-plus yards in six games and 19 total touchdowns, tying Dontrell Moore’s record for rushing touchdowns in a season, set in 2003. With 31 total touchdowns, Dampier is the first Lobo quarterback to be named to an all-conference first-team since Graham Leigh was named first team All-WAC in 1998.

Wysong, a Cleveland High School graduate, caught a career-best 69 passes for 840 yards and one touchdown. Despite missing a game, the redshirt junior is the first UNM receiver to finish a season with 800-plus yards since Deon Long did so in 2011.

Beckett and Agnello started all 12 games for UNM’s offensive line, a unit that allowed the fewest number of sacks (5) and tackles for loss (26) in the 134-team FBS. Along with LaJuan Owens, Richard Pearce and Wallace Unamba, the two helped pave the way for an offense that led the nation in yards per carry (6.67) and finished top five in rushing yards per game (254.1) and total rushing yards (3,043).

Ellis (99 tackles) and Avinger (91 tackles) led UNM in total tackles and each scored a defensive touchdown across 12 starts. Anchoring a secondary that struggled to stay healthy down the stretch, the two finished first and third, respectively, among FBS safeties in snaps played.

Sanders finished second on the team in rushing with 1,063 yards, the fifth-best mark in the Mountain West. Bruckler finished with a career-best 22 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns; he also contributed three two-point conversions, tied for fourth in the FBS.

Santana, a Los Lunas High School graduate, contributed 32 total tackles and finished as UNM’s highest graded run defender on the interior, per Pro Football Focus.