The Long Road to Glory. A Ryne Scott Journey- CFB26

[Deuce2223]

THE PAST
The past 20 years has been unkind to New Mexico State. Aggie fan's have endured watching 6 seasons of 10 or more loss's including a stretch from 2018 to 2021 when NMSU went just 8-30.. However in November of 2021, the Aggies hired former Minnesota HC Jerry Krill and life in the desert started looking up. The Aggies season started very much like their past as they went 1-5 but Krill would turn things around as NMSU won it's final 5 of it's final 6 games to become Bowl eligible for just the 2nd time in the past 2 decades (their other bowl season being 2017) and with a 24-19 victory over Bowling Green won the schools 2nd Bowl title. 2023 started out with a bang as Krill lead the Aggies to a shocking Week 1 win over Auburn (31-10) in what is considered to be one of the biggest victories in school history. Krill would go on to lead the NMSU to the schools first ever 10 win season and a spot in the CUSA Championship. A loss to Liberty in the Championship followed by a loss to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl ended the Aggies dream season on a sour note but the dream turned to a nightmare as Krill announced his departure.

With Krill gone, the Aggies saw a mass exodus of both coaches and players as OC Tim Beck joined Krill on staff at Vanderbilt with Star QB Diego Pavia joining him.

One coach that didn't leave however was WR Coach Tony Sanchez. A former player who turned a successful High School Coaching career in Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 80-5)into a HC job with UNLV for 4 season where he finished with a 20-40 record.

2024 saw the Aggies take a huge step back in Sanchez's first year at the helm. The Aggies would struggle at QB using 4 different players throughout the season as they finish (3-9 Overall and 2-6 in CUSA play). It was another year of mass exodus of players and another year that brought major chances to the New Mexico Aggies coaching staff as OC Tyler Wright is fired after making sexual/racist/homophobic comments via the X..

Sanchez would signed 34 players including 16 transfers but the class ranked just #126 Overall, leaving Aggie fan's very little hope for the future.


THE PRESENT

With the arrival of the 2025 season brings new faces as Sanchez makes 2 massive hirings, first bringing in OC David Yost and second landing Recruiting Coordinator Ryne Scott. who will also serve as the team's Assistant HC.

David Yost a veteran in the coaching ranks who brings in over 40 years of experience.

1990–1995 Tiffin (OC/QB/WR)
1996–2000 Toledo (QB)
2001–2008 Missouri (QB)
2009–2010 Missouri (OC/QB)
2011–2012 Missouri (AHC/OC)
2013–2015 Washington State (WR)
2016 Oregon (PGC/QB)
2017–2018 Utah State (OC/QB)
2019–2021 Texas Tech (OC/QB)
2022–2024 FIU (OC/QB)

Scott is a bit of a unknown.. A native of the Pacific Northwest, trades in his mountains for a stint in the New Mexico desert, where he will look to follow in Yost's footsteps looking to build a 30+ year career.

Scott

"David Yost has a wealth of knowledge and is a guy alot of people like myself has never really heard about.. But this guy knows his stuff and has coached some pretty amazing QB's over the year's. He was huge in the development of guy's like Brad Smith, Chase Daniels and Blaine Gabbert. He also worked with Justin Herbert at Oregon and with Jordan Love at Utah State.and Beheren Morton well at TTU... I am excited to be able to learn under both him and Tony and believe we have a roster that can win games this season"

**Well I wish you could start your career as something more then a HC/OC/DC. I will by default be the OC but kept David Yost as the OC and will create Scott once Yost or Sanchez leave and take their role officially somewhere else in the future.**

[Deuce2223]

Reserved for Dynasty Seasonal History

2025- Ryne Scott WR/Recruiting Coordinator-New Mexico State
Finished (6-6) in CUSA.. Lost in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to UNLV to finish (6-7)

2026- Ryne Scott-OC/Recruiting Coordinator-New Mexico State
Finished the regular season (9-3) Overall in the MWC.. Lost to UNLV in the MWC Championship game
Beat Arizona in the LA Bowl to finish (10-4) Overall Ranked #23 in the Country

2027-Ryne Scott HC of Arizona State.

[Deuce2223]

Reserved for Coach Scott's Coaching History...

[redsox907]

New Mexico State gonna be tough. Not a lot of recruiting in the area - although I did nab a 4* and 5* from Los Lunas with Coastal

are you sticking with the Aggies the whole way, or are we going to see Coach Scott grow into new positions?

[YaBoyRobRoy]

looking forward to following along from the start. New Mexico State has always been trash so it's about time someone turns them into a powerhouse

[Deuce2223]

THE SCHEDULE

Week 1 vs Bryant (FCS)
Week 2 vs Tulsa
Week 3 @ La Tech
Week 4 "Bye"
Week 5 @ New Mexico "Battle of the Rio Grande"
Week 6 vs Sam Houston
Week 7 "Bye"
Week 8 @ Liberty
Week 9 vs Missouri State
Week 10 @ Western Kentucky
Week 11 vs Kennesaw State
Week 12 @ Tennessee
Week 13 @ UTEP "Battle of the I-10"
Week 14 vs Middle Tennessee "Senior Day"


**Battle of the Rio Grande"
The Aggies rivalry with the Lobo's dates back to 1894. prior to New Mexico even becoming a State back when NMSU was known as New Mexico A&M
Well the Lobos dominated the series early on taking a 74-35-5 record lifetime, the Aggies have been competitive the past several years with wins in both 2022 and 2023 under Krill.

**Battle of the I-10**
Another long standing rivalry that dates back 104 years ago. UTEP like the Lobos lead the series 60-40-2 lifetime but NMSU has won 4 of the last 8 meetings including a 3 year streak 2017/18/19.

THE ROSTER

New Mexico State will have 34 new players on this year's roster including 18 Transfers who will play key roles, with several making up the 28 Seniors (12 starters) who will be playing their final season.

QB
#4 SR Logan Fife (79)
#15 JR Parker Awad (74)
#9 FR Nick McGraw (69)
#10 FR Jaylen Patterson (62)

Fife appears to be the starter.. The former Fresno State/Montana transfer is in his first season with the Lobo's. He started his career at Fresno State and even started 11 games in 2023 before transfering to Montana last season.

Awad saw action in 7 games last season including 4 starts throwing for 1079 yds with 7 TD and 4 INT

RB
#1 SR Kadarius Calloway (81)
#8 JR Dijon Stanley (81)
#16 SR Larenzo McMillian (74)
#46 SR Martell Washington (72)
#20 SR Tim Gans (72)

The Aggies RB room is loaded with transfer talent. Calloway originally committed to Miss State before flipping to Alabama, before ending up at East Mississippi CC.. He then made his way to Old Dominion . Rushed 88 times for 623 yards (7.08 ypr) with five touchdowns on the ground, while adding eight receptions for 48 yards and one score in nine games played Had a breakout game at Old Dominion as a 2023 junior when he rushed 11 times for 236 yards and three touchdowns on the ground at Marshall, breaking off runs of 70, 69 and 75 yards.. He then made his way to Cal where he appeared in 11 games for the Bears but logged just 26 carries before hitting the portal again.

Dijon Stanley started his career at Utah playing on Special teams mostly as Freshman, as a Sophomore he showcased his ability to also be a valuable receiving weapon logging 184 All-purpose yards against Southern Utah.

WR
#7 SO TJ Pride (79)
#0 SR PJ Johnson III (80)
#12 JR Tyler King (79)
#5 JR Donovan Faupel (78)
#6 SR Jackson Owens (73)
#11 SO AJ Williams III (71)

This group like the RB room has some talent for Coach Yost and Scott to work with.

Pride Appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman, including making seven starts... Finished with 374 receiving yards on 34 catches to average 31.2 receiving yards per game... Ranked tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions with two... Tallied six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown on Nov. 30 against UTEP.

Johnson- Appeared in all 12 games, including making 11 starts in his fourth season with the Aggies... Finished the season ranked second on the team in receiving yards with 346 on 19 catches to average 28.8 receiving yards per game... Also ranked tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions with two..

King- Started his career at Texas Tech before transfering to Wyoming.-- where he amassed 17 catches for 236 yards while also totaling 15 kickoff returns for 422 total yards and one touchdown on a 100-yard return.

Faupel- Originally signed with the University of Idaho before decommitting and coming to NMSU.

TE
#2 JR Gavin Harris (80)
#41 Bradyn Sage (76)
#84 Adam Parks (75)
#86 Jerry Lydiatt (75)

Harris will be the team's #1 option at TE well Sage will also fill in when the team needs a FB.. Parks and Lydiatt provide solid depth

O-LINE
#55 SR Ma'kyi Lee (75)
#79 SR Florian Staehler (71)
#50 SO Kai Wheeler (66)
#61 SO BJ Tolo (78)
#73 SR Janik Ogunlande (70)

#78 SR Malik Williams (67)
#76 JR Armando Nieves (67)
#74 SO Elijah Harvey (64)

The O-Line will need to stay healthy as there is not much depth and with 3 Senior starters should be a key position of need this off-season.

D-LINE
#16 JR Gabe Peterson (78)
#6 SR Jamall Thompson (71)
#15 JR Larry Jones III (69)
#25 Obinna Okeke (72)
#28 Jaden Robinson (71)

#90 SR Ezra Christensen (81)
#96 SR Cole Schnettgoecke (75)
#95 SR Josiah Jackson (72)
#44 JR Enzo-Pierre Tayou (68)
#54 JR Ta'avili Tuitama (68)
#97 JR Henry Davis III (68)

There is alot of depth here but outside Peterson and Christensen there is not alot of star power.. The Aggies will need someone else to breakout and have a big year.

LINEBACKERS

#10 JR Chance Barron (61)
#14 JR Sone Aupiu (79)
#12 JR Tory Gethers (70)
#35 SR Tyler Martinez (85)
#13 JR Quincy Davis (71)

Martinez and Aupiu are the starters as NMSU will play a 4-2-5 Defense Like the 0-Line not much depth here so hopefully these guy's can stay healthy.

SECONDARY

#3 SR Dakerric Dobbs (83)
#1 JR Josiah Charles (76)
#48 JR Daquan Hodge (74)
#37 SO Will Kendricks (74)

#4 SO Naeten Mitchell (80)
#9 JR Bernock IYA (76)
#0 JR DJ Hill-Smith (71)

#5 SR Nick Session (78)
#2 SR Armahn Hale (75)
#33 SO Bryan Sherman (66)

Session is a Oklahoma State transfer who has spent the bulk of career on Special teams but now gets a chance to start

Hobbs started his career at Sam Houston but was the Aggies #1 CB last season and was a honorable mention on the All-CUSA team.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK SR Ryan "River" Hawk (75)
P SO Max Dean (70)

[Deuce2223]

New Mexico State gonna be tough. Not a lot of recruiting in the area - although I did nab a 4* and 5* from Los Lunas with Coastal

are you sticking with the Aggies the whole way, or are we going to see Coach Scott grow into new positions?

Not sure yet.. I feel like they are a team that has potential to move from CUSA to the Mountain West joining New Mexico and UTEP.. They also have a State in their name so they could qualify at some point to join the new Pac-12 which for now basically is all schools with State in their name...

Yeah recruiting doesn't look great for instate kids typically but I have landed some solid players at Boise State out of New Mexico and Arizona and Texas are close by so those will be the states I will typically look for guy's overlooked by the bigger instate schools.

I want to keep my options open though with Scott. I feel like he could be the type of guy who maybe bolts for a P-4 school someday after building his resume..

[Deuce2223]

looking forward to following along from the start. New Mexico State has always been trash so it's about time someone turns them into a powerhouse

Yeah. It basically came down to them or Rice.. I messed around with Georgia State and thought about FIU, but I did FIU last year with CFB25. I also looked at Eastern Michigan just because of the field and the fact that back in NCAA2004 EMU was always the school I started with.

[Deuce2223]

WILL NEW MEXICO STATE STAY IN CUSA IN 2026??

New Mexico State has struggled to find a home over the years.. NMSU a former member of the WAC was left looking for a new home after the WAC closed up shop as a majority of the teams moved to the Mountain West, leaving the Aggies and Idaho Vandals settling for a invite to the Sun Belt. However in 2005 the WAC made a comeback with NMSU moving all sports back to the WAC well Football remained in the Sun Belt until become a Independent in 2013. In 2014 the Aggies moved back to the Sun Belt but after 3 years they moved back to a Independent Status where they remained for the 2018-2022 seasons. In 2023 the Aggies were invited to the CUSA joining rival UTEP as well as La Tech and Sam Houston State giving the Conference some Southwest regional fan base.

However with reports of UTEP joining the Mountain West in 2026 and reports that the MWC is also targeting Sam Houston and La Tech as possible replacements for the 6 teams leaving for the Pac-12, NMSU could be without regional rivalries yet again..

Reports are the Aggies are making a strong push to join UTEP in the MWC as well as instate rival New Mexico but we have not gotten 100% confirmation that the school has been offered a spot and or if they would accept..

Rumors are the school is also pushing the Pac-12 for possible future membership as the current schedule of schools to be playing in the Pac-12 all have State as apart of their University's name.

[Deuce2223]

WEEK 1-3 RECAP

WEEK 1

The Aggies kicked off their season with a dominating win over Bryant (FCS East) as the Dave Yost Offense put's on a Firework display in front of the home crowd.

NMSU would score 31 points in the opening quarter as Logan Fife fires 4 touchdowns including 3 to SR PJ Johnson III who hauls in a 73 yd strike to open up the game.

Leading (31-0) the Aggies would turn to their ground game as Cal transfer Kadarius Calloway adds a pair of touchdowns in the 2nd Quarter to give NMSU a commanding (45-3) lead at the half.


The Aggies would extend their lead in the 3rd Quarter as Utah transfer Dijon Stanley takes over scoring the the first of 2 touchdowns in the half finishing the game just 5 yds shy of 100 as MSU rolls (59-10)

Stanley would finish the game with a team high 18 carries for 95 yds to go with his 2 TD's. Calloway managed just 28 yds on 10 carries to go with his 2 scores.

Fife completed 33/51 (64%) throwing for 504 yds and 4 TD's. Johnson III finished with 9 rec for 199 yds and 3 TD, TE Gavin Harris had 6 rec for 123 yds and TJ Pride had 7 rec for 99 yds and the other touchdown.

WEEK 2

The Aggies moved to 2-0 with a Week 2 win over Tulsa.. NMSU led 9-7 in the 1st Quarter after recording a safety and extended the lead to (23-7) at half time as Stanley scores on a pair of runs.

Tulsa battled back in the 3rd Quarter cutting the lead to (23-17) and would actually take the lead early in the 4th as Fife throws a INT making it (24-23) but Fife would bounce back finding JR WR Dononvan Faupel on a pair of touchdowns as the Aggies close out the game (36-24)

Fife finished the game 19/39 (48%) throwign for 282 yds with 2 TD and 1 INT passing, well also rushing for a touchdown in the 1st Quarter.
Stanley led the team in rushing again finishing with 76 yds on 24 carries to go with his 2 TD.
Faupel led the team with 8 rec for 124 yds and the 2 TD.

WEEK 3

The Aggies led at the end of the 1st Quarter but a Fife INT would lead to a late La Tech score as the Bulldogs go into the locker room up (17-14). La Tech would open up the 3rd Quarter with the ball extending their lead to (24-14) and after holding the Aggies to a Field Goal extend the lead once again (31-17) going into the 4th.

La Tech would go to the ground and take away valuable time off the clock adding 2 more scores as NMSU falls (45-27) for their first loss of the season. La Tech finished the game with 188 yds on the ground as JR Omiri Wiggins lead the way with 12 carries for 150 yds with 4 runs of 20+ SO QB Blake Baker finished with 400 yds well throwing 5 TD and 1 INT.

Fife finished 17/36 (47%) for 239 yds with 2 TD and the 1 INT in the loss.. Stanley led the ground attack with 23 carries for 77 yds Faupel hauled in both touchdowns finishing with 4 rec for 82 yds.