Jason Eck Says New Mexico’s Surprise Is Gone. Now the Lobos Must Prove Their Rise Can Last

LAS VEGAS — New Mexico spent Jason Eck’s first season catching opponents before they understood how dangerous the Lobos had become.

That advantage is gone.

New Mexico won nine games, tied for first place in the Mountain West regular-season standings and reached the Rate Bowl during Eck’s first year in Albuquerque. The Lobos beat UCLA by 25 points at the Rose Bowl, went undefeated at University Stadium and secured bowl eligibility with a 40-35 victory over UNLV at Allegiant Stadium. Eck became the first coach in program history to reach a bowl in his first season and won more games than any first-year New Mexico coach before him.

New Mexico will not enter 2026 as an overlooked rebuilding program. Opponents have seen the evidence, the roster has attracted more attention and the Lobos are now part of the Mountain West championship conversation.

“I think we snuck up on some people,” Eck told The Scarlet Standard during an appearance on Rebel Daily Drive at Mountain West Football Media Days. “There were some people who probably didn’t have our game circled as a tough game. I think now that advantage is probably gone because I know a lot of people will have our game circled.”

That was the clearest takeaway from Eck’s interview. New Mexico already proved it could rise quickly. The next challenge is showing that the formula behind the breakthrough can survive success.

The Lobos must recruit players who now have more options, retain young contributors after they develop and replace productive players who use New Mexico as a path to a larger opportunity. They must spend carefully in the transfer portal, keep quarterback Jack Layne healthy and build a schedule capable of strengthening a College Football Playoff résumé without making sustained success unnecessarily difficult.

None of those issues exist because New Mexico failed last season. They exist because it won.

The change can already be seen in recruiting. Eck said New Mexico’s evaluation process has not changed, but the program now has access to players it may not have been able to land before the breakthrough. The Lobos are winning more contested recruitments and have moved further ahead with their 2027 high school class than they were at the same point a year ago.

Eck offered a simple comparison. New Mexico and UNLV recently pursued two of the same players. The Rebels landed one and the Lobos signed the other.

“Maybe last year we’d have lost both,” Eck said.

That does not mean New Mexico can suddenly recruit like the wealthiest programs in the sport. It means the Lobos are no longer selling only an opportunity to help build something. They can point to a nine-win season, a Power Four road victory, NFL opportunities and a home crowd that returned once the program gave it meaningful football.

Eck said New Mexico always had a passionate following. The strongest evidence was visible across the street at The Pit, where basketball routinely commanded the state’s attention. His job was to give those supporters a reason to invest the same energy in football.

“We had a great passionate following for basketball,” Eck said. “We just had to give them some good football to get people to come across the street and support it.”

The response came quickly. New Mexico produced its first six-win home season since 1938, recorded an early-season sellout and drew more than 30,000 fans for its double-overtime win over San Diego State in the regular-season finale.

Success also changed the relationship between New Mexico and UNLV.

The programs tied for first place in the Mountain West regular season before UNLV advanced to the conference championship game. Their November meeting at Allegiant Stadium became one of the most consequential games of the season. New Mexico built a 21-0 lead, surrendered it in the fourth quarter and then responded with a late touchdown drive to win 40-35 and become bowl eligible for the first time in nine years.

The rematch will be played Nov. 14 at University Stadium. Eck has already told Dan Mullen that he believes the matchup could remain important to the championship race.

“I think this is going to be a huge game in the conference championship race going forward,” Eck said. “Two teams that tied for the title last year in the regular season and had a heck of a football game last year.”

One memorable game does not automatically create a rivalry, but the conditions are developing. Both programs have risen during an era in which the transfer portal, name, image and likeness opportunities and revenue sharing have given schools outside the traditional power structure more ways to improve quickly.

Eck believes UNLV has used that environment to become a destination for players trying to improve their professional stock. New Mexico’s model is different. The Lobos are searching for value and then relying on development to close the gap against programs with larger budgets.

That requires more than identifying the most talented player available.

Eck said New Mexico must determine what a player is worth, how he fits the roster and whether adding him would prevent the program from addressing several other needs. Football rosters are too large and too interconnected for one expensive addition to solve every problem.

“You’re looking for some value,” Eck said. “You don’t want to overshoot your budget adding one player. In football, you need so many good pieces that one great player can’t turn the tide as much as he can in basketball.”

A running back can be elite, but his production will still depend on the offensive line. A quarterback can command a significant portion of the budget, but he needs enough protection and receiving talent around him to make the investment matter.

Eck identified quarterback and both lines of scrimmage as particularly expensive portal positions. That makes internal development especially important. New Mexico may have to purchase help in certain areas, but the program cannot build a sustainable roster by paying market price for every position.

Damon Bankston became Eck’s clearest example of finding value. New Mexico added the running back from Weber State without using a major portion of its available resources, and Bankston became one of the Lobos’ most important offensive players. Against UNLV, he turned a screen pass into an 84-yard touchdown and finished with 122 receiving yards, the most ever by a New Mexico running back in a game.

Dorian Thomas represented the other side of the model. He arrived from Arizona after barely seeing the field, developed into an all-conference tight end and then transferred to California after his breakout season.

Eck does not sound bitter about that movement. He understands that New Mexico may occasionally develop players who later pursue a larger program, just as it will add transfers searching for playing time.

“We embrace it,” Eck said. “We embrace players moving up if that’s what they want to do. We had some coaches who moved up and got bigger jobs. I was happy for those guys. You just have to adjust to the modern environment.”

That acceptance does not eliminate the retention challenge. New Mexico started three freshmen during the 2025 season and all three remained with the program. Eck knows another productive year could create outside interest, but he would rather play talented young players than protect them from attention.

He also supports the proposed five-for-five eligibility model because it would let freshmen remain available throughout the season without forcing coaches to manage the four-game redshirt threshold. A player who begins the year on the scout team could continue developing and still contribute later.

“It gives you some hope,” Eck said. “If I can keep improving during the season, maybe by the middle of October I am ready to help us. Now we can get you out there.”

That fits Eck’s larger description of New Mexico as a development program.

The Lobos are not going to beat Power Four programs for every recruit. Their path is to identify players with traits that fit the system, improve them and eventually field a roster capable of beating teams that won more recruiting battles.

New Mexico did that against UCLA. The Lobos controlled the game physically and won 35-10 at the Rose Bowl, recording their first victory over a Big Ten opponent and their first Power Four win in 17 years.

“We’re going to help you develop,” Eck said. “We’re going to make you better. We’re very rarely going to beat a Power Four team head to head for a player, but if we do a great job developing guys, we can put ourselves in position to beat a team like UCLA.”

The same message applies to players with professional ambitions. Eck pointed to Keyshawn James-Newby, who was selected by Philadelphia in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Bankston, who signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. Their opportunities reinforced Eck’s argument that players do not have to transfer to a larger school to reach the NFL.

New Mexico now must keep developing the players responsible for sustaining the offense, beginning with Layne.

Layne started all 13 games last season and completed 65.1% of his passes, setting a New Mexico single-season record. He threw for 2,486 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding four rushing scores. His best performance came against UNLV, when he passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns and became the first quarterback in program history to throw two 80-yard touchdown passes in the same game.

The primary question entering 2026 is not whether Layne understands the offense. Eck described him as a savvy veteran with a strong football IQ. The concern is keeping his throwing arm healthy after it bothered him late last season and required offseason surgery.

“We have to keep Jack healthy,” Eck said. “We have to make sure we’re keeping him on a pitch count to make sure that doesn’t flare up on him.”

The Lobos also have to develop the quarterbacks behind him, including James Laubstein as a running option and the younger players who received spring repetitions while Layne was unavailable.

New Mexico’s offense will continue using multiple personnel groupings, with tight ends Cade Keith and Tripp Walsh expected to remain involved. The receiving corps also added former UNLV target Troy Omeire, whose 6-foot-5 frame gives Layne another option in one-on-one situations.

Eck believes Omeire can fill a role similar to the one Keagan Johnson occupied after transferring to New Mexico and becoming the Lobos’ leading receiver. The larger point is that New Mexico must continue replacing production without abandoning the development model that created last year’s breakthrough.

The roster will be tested by a schedule Eck believes is better balanced than last year’s.

New Mexico opens at home against Central Michigan and Mercyhurst before traveling to Oklahoma and New Mexico State. The Mountain West schedule includes home games against UTEP, North Dakota State, UNLV and Air Force, with road trips to Hawai‘i, San Jose State, Nevada and Wyoming.

Eck prefers playing one Power Four opponent instead of the two New Mexico faced last season against Michigan and UCLA. The annual New Mexico State rivalry occupies another nonconference date, leaving limited room for a comparable FBS opponent and an additional home game.

He would like future schedules to include stronger opponents from conferences competing directly with the Mountain West for College Football Playoff access. A home-and-home series against an American Conference contender would provide a useful comparison if both leagues are competing for the same postseason position.

“If you can have some head-to-head data points, hopefully getting wins for the Mountain West against that conference, I think it’s huge,” Eck said.

New Mexico did not have to think seriously about playoff positioning entering last season. The Lobos were trying to establish credibility under a new staff and end a postseason drought.

The conversation changed because Eck’s first team moved faster than expected.

The Lobos have more recruiting access, a returning record-setting quarterback and proof that their development model can produce all-conference players, NFL opportunities and wins over opponents with more resources. They also have a roster that other programs will evaluate more aggressively and a schedule filled with teams that will no longer view New Mexico as an easy week.

Last season was about showing that New Mexico could become relevant again. The Lobos caught opponents by surprise, earned the state’s attention and entered the championship race before most of the conference expected them to arrive.

They will not receive that advantage in Year 2.

New Mexico has already proved it can rise.

Now it has to prove the rise can last.

Watch the full Rebel Daily Drive interview with New Mexico head coach Jason Eck: