Lobos Add Two to Move Class to 24
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico football program and head coach Bronco Mendenhall have added two more high school signees to the Class of 2024, bring UNM’s total roster additions to 24.
The two signees include local student-athlete Elijah Brody, a dual-threat quarterback from West Mesa High School in Albuquerque, and receiver D’Angelo Mayes from Syracuse, Utah. The two high schoolers pair up with Las Cruces native John Sierra (linebacker) and SaKylee Woodard of Tucson, Arizona (offensive line), who both signed in December. Overall, UNM has four high school recruits in the class.
They pair up with a 20-man transfer class that are all in school and enrolled and currently going through spring conditioning workouts with new strength coach Nate Pototschnik. Of the 20 transfers, the Lobos picked up seven from Power 5 Conferences (USC, Illinois, Syracuse, Texas A&M, California, Arizona State and Iowa State), four from Group of Five Conferences (East Carolina, San Diego State, FAU and Old Dominion) and six from FCS programs (two from Campbell along with Weber State, Indiana State, Grambling State and Indiana State). That gives UNM 17 Division I transfers into the program.
The Lobos also added three junior college student-athletes, one each from New Mexico Military Institute, Dodge City Community College and Garden City Community College.
Below are capsules of the complete 2024 signing class:
ELIJAH BRODY
QB | 6-3 | 190 | Fr | HS#
Albuquerque, N.M. | West Mesa HS
HIGH SCHOOL
*Threw for 1,562 yards as a senior with 17 touchdowns including a long of 69 yards.
*True dual threat, also rushed for 1,772 yards on 191 carries with 25 touchdowns and a long of 73 yards with nine 100-yard rushing games as a senior.
*For his career, he threw for 4,017 yards with 46 touchdowns and rushed for 2,537 yards and another 40 touchdowns.
*Named First Team All-State by the NMAA as a senior.
D’ANGELO MAYES
WR | 6-2 | 170 | Fr | HS#
Syracuse, Utah | Syracuse HS
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Syracuse High School where as a senior he caught 85 passes for 1,086 yards with 15 receiving touchdowns, and 18 all told.
*Caught 38 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns as a junior at Syracuse
*Averaged 28.8 on kickoff returns and 14.1 on punt returns.
*Also ran track, running 10.95 in the 100-meter and a 22.06 in the 200-meter.
JOHN SIERRA
LB | 6-2 | 215 | Fr | HS#
Las Cruces, N.M. | Centennial HS
HIGH SCHOOL
*Had 65 tackles as a senior along with 3.5 sacks as an outside linebacker
*Led Centennial to a 7-3 record and a perfect 5-0 district mark advancing to the 6A quarterfinals
*Forced a fumble and recovered three as well as registering an interception.
*Was named First Team All-District as well as First Team All-State 6A by the NMAA.
*Named Second Team All-State by the NMAA as a senior.
SA’KYLEE WOODARD
OL | 6-3 | 290 | Fr | HS#
Tucson, Ariz | Canyon Del Oro HS
HIGH SCHOOL
*Played both offensive and defensive line at Canyon Del Oro High School.
*Led a unit known as the “Trench Mob” that helped lead the way to an undefeated season and a 4A state title.
*Was named First Team All-Conference and he was an honorable mention All-State selection by the Arizona Republic.
McKENZIE AGNELLO
OL | 6-4 | 310 | Jr | TR
Copperas Cove, Texas | Texas A&M Commerce/Copperas Cove HS
TEXAS A&M COMMERCE
*Played three seasons at Texas A&M Commerce, redshirting in 2021 and lettering in 2022.
*Played in one game in 2021, nine in 2022 and three in 2023.
*Team averaged nearly 400 yards of offense and scored just under 28 points a game during the 2022 season.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Copperas Cove High School where he was named the Bulldawgs’ lineman of the year.
MALIK ALIANE
OL | 6-2 | 333 | So | JC
Roeun, France | New Mexico Military Institute/LR Leopards de Rouen
NMMI
*Played two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, redshirting in 2022 and playing in seven games in 2023.
*Blocked for an offense that averaged nearly 400 yards a game and averaged 30.2 points per game.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Learned the game of football playing for LR Leopards de Rouen in France, where he earned a scholarship to NMMI.
BOBBY ARNOLD III
CB | 5-10 | 183 | Jr | JC
Newark, Del. | Dodge City Community College/Salem HS [NJ]
DODGE CITY CC
*Played two seasons, playing in 19 games over two seasons.
*Recorded 49 tackles, 5.0 TFLs for 20 yards, 1.0 sacks for 10 yards, three interceptions, a pass breakup, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.
*Returned the three interceptions for 142 yards including two touchdowns.
*Averaged 33.0 yards on kick returns with a long of 72.
*Had two interceptions and 33 tackles with a PBU in 2022 as a freshman.
NOAH AVINGER
CB | 6-1 | 190 | Jr | TR
Cerritos, Calif. | San Diego State/Servite HS
SAN DIEGO STATE
*Played in 25 games with eight starts in 2021 and 2022 before redshirting in 2023.
*Was named preseason All-MW by Athlon in 2022 and he recorded 36 tackles 1.5 for loss, forced fumble, an interception, and three pass breakups
*As a true freshman had 15 tackles (10 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups and started the opener, a first for an SDSU corner since 2009.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Was a two-time all-state selection and two-time all-Trinity League pickat Servite High School.
JAMES BAILEY
OL | 6-3 | 310 | So | TR
Katy, Texas | Texas A&M/Paetow HS
TEXAS A&M
*Played two seasons at Texas A&M, redshirting in 2022 and then not seeing game action.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Paetow High School where he helped Paetow to a 2021 state championship.
*Earned First Team All-State in Class 5A as a senior, a season in which he was also a team captain.
*Paetow rushed for over 4,000 yard his senior season.
BARAKA BECKETT
OL | 6-3 | 315 | Sr | &TR
Pacific Palisades, Calif. | Campbell/UCLA/Pacific Palisades HS
CAMPBELL/UCLA
*Was a starter for Campbell in 2023, playing for current UNM offensive line coach Famika Anae.
*Sat out the 2022 season at UCLA, earning his degree, but played in the seasons prior, including starting the 2021 opener against Hawai’i
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Pacific Palisades and in his senior season he was credited with 35 tackles, 9.5 TFLs and 2.0 sacks.
*Returned two fumbles for TDs and was named to the Fox Sports/SoCal Prep Insider All-City All-American game.
DE’JON BENTON
DT | 6-1 | 270 | Sr | &TR
Pittsburgh, Calif. | USC/Pittsburgh HS
USC
*Played in 35 games over a five-year career at USC, recording 32 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and QB Hurry.
*Played in nine games as a senior with 12 tackles, 5.0 TFLs for 20 yads and 1.5 sacks for 12 yards.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered on the OL and DL at Pittsburgh High School, being named 2018 PrepStar All-Western Region
*As a senior he had 43 tackles, including 11 for losses (with 2 sacks), plus a forced fumble and a pass break up.
DEVIN BRANDT
DT | 6-3 | 292 | Sr | &TR
Muskogee, Okla. | Old Dominion/Hilldale HS
OLD DOMINION
*Played three seasons for Old Dominion and one at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
*At ODU, he played in 32 games, recording 85 tackles, 11.5 TFLs for 30 yards, 3.0 sacks for 15 yards, four PBUs, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
*In his lone season at Norhteastern Oklahoma A&M hewas fifth on the team with 30 tackles, leading with 8.5 TFLs.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Played on both sides of the line at Hilldale High School.
ELVIN HARRIS
OL | 6-5 | 320 | Fr | TR
Miami, Fla. | Campbell/Chaminade Prep
CAMPBELL
*Redshirted his only season at Campbell, seeing action in one game.
*Played for current UNM offensive line coach Famika Anae.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Chaminade Prep where he was a Max Prep Freshman All-American and a twice was Second Team All-County.
*Also lettered in track, competing in the shot
Antoineo Harris, Jr.
EDGE | 6-4 | 250 | Sr | TR*
Chicago, Ill. | Indiana State/Iowa Central Community College/Morton West HS
INDIANA STATE/IOWA CENTRAL CC
*Played two seasons at Iowa Central and two at Indiana State, redshirting in 2022.
*Played in 13 games overall at ISU with 17 tackles including 5.5 TFLs for 46 yards, 3.5 sacks for 27 yards and four PBUs.
*At Iowa Central he recorded 24 tackles with six sacks and a forced fumble over two seasons.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Morton High School, recording 45 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
JAVEN JACOBS
RB | 5-10 | 195 | So | TR
Chandler, Ariz. | Arizona State/Saguaro HS
ARIZONA STATE
*Spent two seasons at Arizona State, playing in 2022 as a true freshman and redshirting after four games in 2023.
*Played mostly on special teams with nine career punt returns and six career kickoff returns.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Saguaro in football and baseball, and as a seniorhe finished with 1,222 total yards and 18 TDs.
*5A Player of the Year, 5A All Conference, First Team WR, First Team Punt Returner, and Offensive Player of the Year.
Isaiah Jones
WR | 6-4 | 200 | Sr | &TR
Cocoa, Fla. | Syracuse/El Camino College/Cocoa HS
SYRACUSE/EL CAMINO
*Spent four years at Syracuse, the last two with current UNM offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
*Caught 13 passes over the last two seasons for 226 yards and three touchdowns with a long of 44, and he played 27 games overall.
*Played in 10 games for El Camino, catching 19 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Cocoa High School, catching 62 passes for 1,108 yards and eight TDs, earning 4A All-State honors.
PIERRE KEMENI, JR.
CB | 6-1 | 205 | Sr | JC*
Milton, ONT, CAN | Garden City CC/Texas State/Ohio/Clarkston North HS
GARDEN CITY/TEXAS STATE/OHIO
*Saw action in six games at Garden City, recording 19 tackles on the season.
*Also spent one season at Texas State, redshirting.
*Spent two years at Ohio, playing in 12 games recording 13 tackles and a pass breakup as a sophomore.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered infootball, soccer, basketball and track at Clarkson North High School
*Was team captain at Clarkson, earning the Coaches Award.
SHAWN MILLER
WR | 6-1 | 200 | So | TR
Chandler, Ariz. | Illinois/IMG/Saguaro HS
ILLINOIS
*Spent two seasons at Illinois, playing in six games as a redshirt freshman in 2023 after missing 2022 with an injury.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at both IMG and Saguaro High School.
*Helped IMG to the 2020 national title
*Helped Saguaro High School to the 2018 state title
*Honor Roll for four years
OKIKI OLORUNFUNMI
EDGE | 6-5 | 255 | Sr | TR*
Clovis, Calif. | Weber State/Reedley JC/Clovis North HS
WEBER STATE/REEDLEY
*Spent four seasons at Weber State, playing in 19 total games.
*Recorded 25 tackles in his career, 5.5 TFLs for 26 yards, 3.0 sacks for 24 yards and three pass breakups.
*Saw action in a career-best 11 games in 2021 with 11 tackles.
*Played one season at Reedley and earned all-conference honors in 2019 with 18 tackles with 5.5 sacks
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered iin football and track at Clovis North High School.
RICHARD PEARCE
OL | 6-2 | 303 | Jr | TR
Hueytown, Ala. | East Carolina/Hueytown HS
EAST CAROLINA
*Played two seasons at East Carolina and redshirted a third.
*Played 23 games with three starts over two seasons, and also was on the field goal/PAT protect units.
*Earned starts against Appalachian State, Marshall and Michigan.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Hueytown for four years, starting two
ELI SANDERS
RB | 6-0 | 200 | Jr | TR
Oceanside, Calif. | Iowa State/Chandler [AZ] HS
IOWA STATE
*Played three seasons at Iowa State (one redshirt), playing 21 games, starting six.
*Rushed for 703 yards over 21 games including 477 yards in 2023 with four TDs.
*Added 15 catches for 135 yards with a touchdown.
*Averaged 22.6 yards over five career kickoff returns.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Chandler in Arizona where he was ranked the No. 32 running back nationally by Rivals.
*First team all-state in 2020, leading his team to a state title and perfect season (10-0) as a senior.
JAWAUN SINGLETARY
OL | 6-2 | 315 | Sr | &TR
Houston, Texas | Grambling State/Navarro College/SFA/Westfield HS
GRAMBLING STATE/NAVARRO
*Spent one season at Grambling State, playing in eight games.
*Also played two seasons at Navarro College.
*Spent his first collegiate season at Stephen F. Austin.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Was an all-conference performer at Westfield High School.
*Earned First Team All-District 16-6A accolades as a senior in 2018.
*Is the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary.
MOSO TUITELE
LB | 6-4 | 250 | So | TR
Aurora, Colo. | California/Regis Jesuit HS
CALIFORNIA
*Did not see action in his two seasons at Cal.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered and played four years at Regis Jesuit High School.
*Head career totals of 101 tackles, 15.0 sacks for 107 yards, 38 quarterback hurries, one interception, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble.
*Earned first-team All-South League honors and was named MVP of the South League
*Nephew of former UNM coach Saga Tuitele.
WALLACE UNAMBA
OL | 6-6 | 332 | Jr | TR
Garland, Texas | FAU/Kilgore Community College/Rowlett HS
FAU/KILGORE CC
*Spent one year at FAU, playing in one game, earning a redshirt.
*Lettered two seasons at Kilgore, earning NJCAA All-American Honors twice.
*Also was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection.
HIGH SCHOOL
*Lettered at Rowlett High School.