The only transfer portal window of the offseason closed on Jan. 16, and New Mexico State has officially announced many of its 26 transfer acquisitions.
The deadline doesn’t mean the Aggies can’t sign transfers anymore, as it was only the deadline for players to enter their names into the portal. It’ll be difficult for NM State to sign more due to the spring semester starting on Jan. 21, but it can happen.
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The 26 players include 14 on offense, 10 on defense and two on special teams. Trey Hedden (Furman) adds to the quarterback competition for 2026, running back Terrell Washington Jr. (Iowa) looks to improve the Aggies’ poor rushing attack from 2025 and kicker Ilya Uvaydov (Utah Tech) and punter Brody Richter (Minnesota) will try to be special teams starters.
Let’s look at some wins and losses for NM State in the transfer portal:
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Wins
Aggies snag starting offensive linemen
NM State made its offensive line a priority.
Five offensive linemen have been brought in so far, the most notable of whom is guard James Williams. He started 12 games for UTEP in 2025 and crossed enemy lines to join the rival Aggies. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams didn’t allow a sack in 497 pass-blocking reps last season.
The other four — offensive tackle Armond Owens (Grambling State), interior offensive lineman Luke Moise (Wofford), guard Tyler Keinath (Boise State) and center Mark Chapman (Columbia) — have all had Division I starting experience at some point. In 2025, Owens started 11 games at right tackle, Moise started all 12 games at either left guard or center and Chapman was an All-Ivy League honorable mention.
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Keinath didn’t start a game in 2025, but started eight at right guard for BSU in 2024.
Intriguing signings at skill positions
Running back James Jones (Delaware State) could be one of NM State’s most dynamic players in 2026 after tallying over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2025.
Delaware State’s James Jones leaps a tackle attempt by Delaware’s Jason Scott in the second quarter at Delaware Stadium, August 28, 2025.
Tight end Josiah Thomas (Western Carolina) is another FCS all-conference player joining after earning second-team All-Southern Conference honors last season. He tallied 228 receiving yards and three touchdown catches.
Wide receiver Lyndon Ravare (Kennesaw State) is one of NM State’s most experienced transfer acquisitions on offense and knows Conference USA well after tallying 230 yards and one touchdown on a CUSA-title-winning team. Devin Ellison (Washington State) didn’t play much in 2025 due to health and potentially underlying reasons, but he was rated as a three-star player in the portal by 247Sports.
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Reloading in the secondary
Safety Tayden Barnes (Cincinnati) is one of NM State’s best portal acquisitions. An All-CUSA freshman with the Aggies in 2024, he should become a key piece in the secondary again.
Cincinnati Bearcats safety Tayden Barnes (10) tackles Bowling Green Falcons tight end Jyrin Johnson (7) in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Bowling Green Falcons at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Sept. 6, 2025.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 16: Tayden Barnes #3 of the New Mexico State Aggies intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Jacob Bostick #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field on November 16, 2024 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Cornerback Izzy Clark-White (Monmouth) was an All-Coastal Athletic Association honorable mention last season after tying for fourth among CAA players with 10 pass breakups. Safety RJ Chapman (Merrimack) posted an 88.2 PFF coverage grade last season, one of the highest among FCS safeties.
Cornerback Javon Gillespie (East Texas A&M) started 10 games last season and was credited with 10 passes defended. Maybe cornerback De’Marcus Peters (Texas A&M-Kingsville) can successfully make the jump from Division II to Division I, as he was a first-team All-Lone Star Conference selection in 2025.
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Losses
Several top players depart
NM State is far from the only non-power conference team experiencing this, but it doesn’t make the losses sting any less.
All four of the Aggies’ All-CUSA players from 2025 — wide receiver Donovan Faupel, tight end Gavin Harris, defensive lineman Ezra Christensen and safety Naeten Mitchell — have left for Arkansas (Faupel), Georgia Tech (Harris) and Colorado (both Christensen and Mitchell). That’s NM State’s leading receiver, the 2025 first-team All-CUSA tight end, the Aggies’ sack leader and tackling leader all out the door.
Interior offensive lineman BJ Tolo, a key piece on NM State’s offensive line who started at both center and right guard last season, is now at UNLV.
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Losing four of their best players and their most reliable offensive lineman is tough for the Aggies. Linebacker Tyler Martinez, a 2024 second-team All-CUSA pick, also left for Colorado.
No linebacker signings
Tyler Martinez and Quincy Davis have transferred to Colorado and Kansas, respectively. Tory Gethers remains in the portal, although he can come back as he still hasn’t found a new team yet.
If Gethers departs, Sone Aupiu will be the only returning NM State linebacker who earned significant playing time last season. Perhaps the Aggies believe in Las Cruces product Zaiden Davis or junior college recruit Faapaia Fualema to take on a large role in 2026, so they didn’t feel a need to target a linebacker in the portal.
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Still, it would’ve been nice to see NM State sign at least one from the portal.
Not much juice in DL signings
The Aggies only tallied 19 sacks last season, tied for the second-worst mark in CUSA.
The 26 acquisitions include four defensive linemen, but none seem like they’ll solve the sack issues at first glance. Defensive lineman Kaian Roberts-Day and defensive end Vic Shaw, both of UTSA, didn’t make a sack last season. Jeremiah Sandiford (Tennessee Tech) earned an 83.8 PFF run-defense grade last season, but he didn’t make a sack either.
The only one of the four who tallied at least one sack last season was Jordan-Lebron Downey (Livingstone College). However, his 2.5-sack total came at the D-II level.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State’s wins and losses in the 2026 transfer portal