Where does NMSU football's 2026 recruiting class rank after the early signing period?
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The early signing period took place from Dec. 3-5 last week, and New Mexico State had seven total high school and junior college players officially sign to it during that period.
Six players were announced on Wednesday, Dec. 3, with the seventh signing during the late afternoon on Friday, Dec. 4. The Aggies also announced two incoming transfers from Division II schools, cornerback De’Marcus Peters from Texas A&M-Kingsville and defensive lineman Jordan-Lebron Downey from Livingstone College, as part of their early signing class. However, these are not high school or junior college players.
Defensive end Steven Valdez (from Sahuarita, AZ) is currently a hard commit to NM State. However, he has not yet signed his letter of intent, according to 247Sports.
These are the seven high school and junior college players who officially put pen to paper on their NM State commitments during the early signing period:
- QB Kalani McLeod (Diabo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA)
- OL Isaiah Garcia-Perez (Broomfield High School in Broomfield, CO)
- OL Caleb Pyfrom (Garden City Community College in Garden City, KS)
- WR JaDarius Sanders (El Dorado High School in El Paso, TX)
- DE Zhakius Thomas (Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, TX)
- DE Jamaun Thompson (Booker High School in Sarasota, FL)
- LB Faapaia Fualema (Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA)
National outlets are not high on the Aggies’ 2026 class after the early signing period. This could be because their class is smaller than most other Division I and FBS schools, as many have double-digit commits. Another factor could be that some signees don’t have a star rating.
247Sports has ranked NM State’s current transfer portal class at 15th out of 15 schools. On3 doesn’t have team transfer portal rankings yet.
Here’s where the Aggies stand in national recruiting class rankings after the early signing period. Rankings are correct as of Tuesday afternoon.
247Sports
Among ranked FBS teams: 133rd (Above Penn State, Army and North Texas)
Among all Division I teams: 153rd
Rivals
Among ranked FBS teams: 133rd (Above UAB and North Texas)
- The Rivals Industry Rankings only ranks 135 FBS teams, as Penn State doesn’t have a ranking
Among all Division I teams: 135th
ESPN
ESPN only ranks its top 75 recruiting classes. NM State is not among them.
Conference USA recruiting class rankings
These lists will leave out UTEP and Louisiana Tech, as they will be joining the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference, respectively, in 2026.
247Sports
- Western Kentucky
- Florida International
- Liberty
- Jacksonville State
- Delaware
- Kennesaw State
- Missouri State
- Sam Houston
- Middle Tennessee
- New Mexico State
Rivals
- Western Kentucky
- Florida International
- Liberty
- Jacksonville State
- Kennesaw State
- Delaware
- Missouri State
- Sam Houston
- Middle Tennessee
- New Mexico State
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: See where NMSU’s 2026 recruiting class ranks after early signing period
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