NMSU could play both Logan Fife and Adam Damante at QB vs MTSU
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New Mexico State has uncertainty at quarterback this week.
The Aggies’ regular starter, Logan Fife, is still working his way back from the injury he sustained against Tennessee on Nov. 15. NM State coach Tony Sanchez officially labeled it as a back injury during a press conference on Monday, Nov. 24.
Backup quarterback Adam Damante made his first start of the season in Fife’s place in a 34-31 win over UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 22. Damante had some jitters in the first quarter and made a critical error when he dropped a snap that the Miners recovered in NM State territory. However, he improved and finished the game at 29-for-41 passing for 253 yards and three touchdowns (his interception came after wide receiver PJ Johnson III dropped a pass).
Sanchez said that he thinks both Fife and Damante will take the field against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 29, if the former is fully healthy.
“If he’s 100% healthy and he feels good, I think you’ll see both of them,” Sanchez said.
Fife has had plenty of high points and low points this season. He ranks in the top five in Conference USA in both passing yards (third with 2,238) and touchdown passes (fifth with 11), but his 12 interceptions are tied for the most alongside Liberty’s Ethan Vasko.
Advanced metrics also show a rollercoaster style of play, as Pro Football Focus records him as having a CUSA-best 22 big-time throws (passes with “excellent ball location and timing” and “generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window”), but also a CUSA-high 19 turnover-worthy plays (passes that have a “high percentage chance to be intercepted” or moments where a quarterback does “a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling”).
Damante made his first FBS start and his first start since 2023 with Northern Arizona last Saturday. His seven games (five of them being starts) with the Lumberjacks went poorly, as he threw nine interceptions to six touchdowns and recorded 16 turnover-worthy plays to seven big-time throws. He showed strides in his first start as an Aggie, though, being one of only three CUSA quarterbacks to throw at least three touchdown passes in Week 13.
A potential two-quarterback system between Fife and Damante does depend on the former’s health. Sanchez says Fife is “questionable” for this Saturday’s game.
“It depends on how healthy he is,” Sanchez said. “We talked to him yesterday a little bit, and… he looked better. Still a little bit sluggish, a little bit beat up from that hit he took, so we just want to make sure that he’s comfortable in there.”
Stanley finally gets going
Running back Dijon Stanley spoke at Monday’s press conference after his best performance of the season.
Stanley rushed for over 100 yards for the first time as an NM State player against UTEP, notching 107 in total. He scored a 57-yard touchdown rush to complete the Aggies’ second-quarter comeback after they entered it down 21-0, with the play being called a critical turning point by Miners coach Scotty Walden. He also had a critical 25-yard carry on the Aggies’ final drive that set up wide receiver TK King’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown catch two plays later.
Stanley has mostly struggled to perform like that, as he’s failed to rush for over 20 yards in seven games this season. His issues have been part of a larger problem for NM State, as it’s had one of the nation’s worst rushing offenses all season long. Even with the 194 rushing yards it tallied against UTEP, the Aggies still rank second-to-last among FBS teams with 76.7 rushing yards per game.
Stanley believes his outing against the Miners was aided by a better offensive performance from the Aggies overall, and hopes it continues in their last game.
“I just feel like we found our footing as an offense, from the play-calling to the running backs… our (offensive line’s) footwork, our quarterbacking, our receiver alignments… just everything in general,” Stanley said. “We just had to fix it up and tune it up. It wasn’t very good at the beginning of the year… not just me, but just in general. It’s all things, and so we just tuned it up.”
NM State ranks 11th in CUSA in both total yards per game (321.7) and points per game (21.4).
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NM State may play both Logan Fife, Adam Damante at QB vs MTSU
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