NMSU's leading receiver from 2025 is heading to the SEC
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New Mexico State has now suffered its first major offensive casualty in the transfer portal.
Wide receiver Donovan Faupel, the Aggies’ leader in receiving yards (661) and receiving touchdowns (7) in 2025, announced he would transfer to Arkansas on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 8. He visited both the Razorbacks and UCLA this week, but committed to the former after taking his visit to Fayetteville on Jan. 6.
IM HOME đ #WPSpic.twitter.com/D6x6RBEjn6
â Donovan Faupel (@DonovanFaupel_) January 9, 2026
Faupel played three seasons for NM State from 2023-25 after being recruited by then-Aggies wide receivers coach Tony Sanchez, who would become his head coach in 2024. He caught eight passes in 2023, including two for 33 yards in the 2023 Conference USA Championship Game, but couldn’t do better in 2024 after tonsillitis limited his production to three catches for 48 yards in seven games played.
But 2025 was Faupel’s breakout season. He started strong with five catches for 99 yards in the season opener against Bryant, exceeding his entire yardage totals from both his 2023 and 2024 seasons. Faupel would then experience more highs, including a career-high 10-catch outing against Missouri State and two-touchdown games against both Kennesaw State and UTEP.
He was named a second-team All-CUSA player for his efforts, and finished the season ranked eighth in the conference for receiving yards and tied for third in touchdown catches.
Faupel joins linebacker Tyler Martinez and safety Naeten Mitchell, both of whom transferred to Colorado, as NM State starters to have left for other programs. Another notable departing player on offense is interior offensive lineman BJ Tolo, who has transferred to UNLV after starting all 12 games for the Aggies at either right guard or center in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State football’s Donovan Faupel transfers to Arkansas
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