New Mexico State football transfer portal takeaways after 1 week
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As of the morning of Friday, Jan. 9, New Mexico State has officially secured three incoming transfers since the portal opened exactly one week ago. This brings the Aggies’ total to five after bringing in two last month.
But NM State has also suffered more losses. Multiple key players have officially announced their departures to other programs, and more Aggies continue to announce their entries into the portal.
The Las Cruces Sun-News provided an update on key portal events for NM State at the start of the window. Here’s another one, recapping the last couple of days for the Aggies as we’ve now hit one full week of the 2026 portal window.
Aggies land QB in portal
A two-game sample size was never going to be enough to make Adam Damante NM State’s surefire starting quarterback in 2026, and now there’s some competition.
The Aggies announced that Furman quarterback Trey Hedden had signed for them on Jan. 7. Hedden started all 12 games for the Paladins in 2025 and threw for 2,967 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He played 10 games with eight starts in 2024 and was named an All-Southern Conference Freshman after passing for 1,767 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Among SOCON quarterbacks who played at least 20% of their team’s snaps in 2025, Hedden ranked fifth with a 76.7 passing grade. Hedden bulks up the quarterback room for the Aggies, who currently have Damante and junior college recruit Kalani McLeod on board as candidates to start next season.
Faupel and Tolo leave, Hobbs to enter portal
While the portal can give, the portal can take as well. NM State has known that better than most teams in recent years.
And the portal has just snatched two of the Aggies’ best offensive players. Wide receiver Donovan Faupel announced his transfer to Arkansas on Jan. 8 after taking a visit on Jan. 6. He took an earlier visit to UCLA, but has now settled on the Razorbacks. That loss will sting NM State, as Faupel was its leading receiver in 2025 with 661 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
IM HOME đ #WPSpic.twitter.com/D6x6RBEjn6
â Donovan Faupel (@DonovanFaupel_) January 9, 2026
The Aggies have also lost BJ Tolo, with UNLV announcing it had signed him on Jan. 7. Tolo started games at both right guard and center in 2025 and was NM State’s only returning starter on the offensive line from the 2024 season.
Trenches set.
Welcome to Las Vegas @BjTolo đ° pic.twitter.com/D2K5rPKljS
â UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) January 8, 2026
The Aggies also may lose more secondary pieces, as cornerback Dakerric Hobbs has entered the portal. 2025 was a tough season for Hobbs, as he only played four games before tearing his labrum against New Mexico on Sept. 27. But he was one of NM State’s best defensive backs before his injury and was arguably the team’s best cornerback in 2024 after he posted a PFF coverage grade of 71.4 that season.
Hobbs is seeking a medical hardship waiver to play one more season of college football.
New offers, visits
Bucknell offensive tackle Xavier Allen announced on Jan. 7 that he would soon visit NM State.
Since the Sun-News’ last transfer portal update on Jan. 7, the following players say they have received an offer from the Aggies. Offers are not limited to these players.
- Rutgers OT Carter Kadow
- Western Carolina IOL Elijah Collins
- Eastern Michigan G Owen Snively
- Tennessee Tech DT Jeremiah Sandiford
- East Texas A&M CB Javon Gillespie
- NC Central CB Tomondrey Braxton
- Monmouth DB Izzy Clark-White
- Concordia, St. Paul (Division II) CB Dilan Williamson
Snively started 10 games at left guard for EMU in 2025 and gained experience playing right tackle at Colorado State in 2022. He ranked fourth among Mid-American Conference guards who played at least 20% of their team’s snaps in 2025 with a 71.3 run-blocking grade from PFF.
Defensively, Sandiford led all Big South-OVC defensive tackles in 2025 with an 82.3 run-defense grade from PFF. Braxton was a 2025 first-team All-MEAC selection, and Clark-White was a 2025 All-Coastal Athletic Association honorable mention. Both could be key acquisitions for the Aggies after cornerback Stilton McKelvey transferred to Baylor and Hobbs’ recent transfer portal entry.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU transfer portal takeaways after one week as Aggies land new QB
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