Dampier Becomes UNM’s First Ever All-MW First Team Pick at QB
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — It’s only fitting with an offense the likes of which had not really been seen at New Mexico, that UNM would get two offensive players named First Team All-Mountain West and two more named Second Team All-Mountain West. Devon Dampier and Baraka Beckett were named to the First Team and Luke Wysong and McKenzie Agnello were named second team, leading nine Lobos who picked up postseason honors.
The last time the Lobos had two players earned First Team All-Mountain West honors was in 2014 when LaMar Bratton was named as an offensive lineman and Dakota Cox made it at linebacker. The last time UNM had two First Team All-Mountain West selections on offense was in 2007 when a record eight Lobos were named First Team including five on offense.
Dampier in earning First Team honors at quarterback became the first Lobo to ever that distinction, and he is the first Lobo quarterback to earn any First Team All-Conference honors since 1998 when Graham Leigh was named First Team All-WAC. He is only the fifth Lobo quarterback in 91 years to earn First Team All-Conference honors, joining Leigh (1997 and 1998), Stoney Case (1994), Rocky Long (1971) and Stan Quintana (1964).
He led the league in total offense with 3,934 yards, total plays with 545, and he was third in rushing with 1,166 yards in becoming the first Lobo quarterback to break the 1,000-yard mark. He was second with 19 touchdowns and third in scoring with 114 points. His 7.52 yards per carry led the league, even topping Ashton Jeanty’s 7.33 yards per carry.
Dampier was second in the Mountain West in passing yards with 2,768, and he was third in total completions with 226. He became the first Lobo in recorded history to be the only player to throw every pass on the season.
He also rushed for 100 yards in six games, and six times he hit triple digits rushing and passing in the same game, doubling the career record of three at UNM.
Beckett is the second straight UNM offensive lineman to earn First Team All-Mountain West honors as he started every game at left guard, blocking for an offense which is currently ranked fourth nationally in total offense 484.3 yards per game(1st in MW), fifth nationally in rushing at 253.8 yards per game (2nd in MW) and led the nation in fewest sacks allowed with five, fewest sack yardage allowed with 21, fewest TFLs with 26 and fewest TFL yards allowed with 70.
He played 896 snaps, the second most in the MW (behind one of his teammates) and the 12th-most in the FBS and his pass blocking grade of 91.2 per PFF led the Mountain West and is the second-best pass blocking grade in the FBS among all guards. For the season he allowed zero sacks, zero hits and two hurries on 474 pass blocking attempts per PFF and his 99.8 pass blocking efficiency led all FBS guards, per PFF. He also helped UNM to be one of only two teams in the FBS with a pair of 1000-yard rushers.
Wysong earned All-Mountain West honor for a third straight year, but was named Second Team on offense as a wide receiver for the first time. He led UNM in receptions with 69 for 840 yards, the most receptions at UNM since 2007 and the most yards at UNM since 2011. His 6.27 catches per game were second on to Nick Nash of San Jose State, and he was third in the Mountain West in receptions and fifth in yards.
He led UNM in receptions in all 10 of his complete games and he had three games of 125+ receiving yards, with 129 (on 8 catches) at Arizona, 126 (on 10 catches) vs. Fresno State, and 156 (on 10 catches) at Utah State. In his 10 full games, he has had at least five receptions in all of them and his 15 contested catches per PFF is the third-most in the MW.
McKenzie Agnello became UNM’s starting center three days prior to the first game due to a season-ending injury, having never played center previously in college or high school. He started 10 games at center and two at right tackle for UNM’s offense which ranked fourth nationally in total offense 484.3 yards per game (1st in MW), six nationally in rushing at 252.3 yards per game (2nd in MW) and led the nation in fewest sacks allowed with five, fewest sack yardage allowed with 21, fewest TFLs with 26 and fewest TFL yards allowed with 70.
He played 898 snaps, the most among centers in the MW and the third-most in the FBS and he had a run blocking grade of 75.4 per PFF, which is first in the Mountain West among centers and is the third-best run blocking grade in the FBS. He allowed zero sacks, zero hits and eight hurries on 473 pass blocking attempts per PFF and his 99.1 pass blocking efficiency in second the Mountain West among centers and is tied for 18th in the FBS, per PFF.
Among honorable mention picks, Eli Sanders finished fifth in rushing yards with 1,065 yards and his 99.5 all-purpose yards per game was also fifth in the Mountain West, and he was ninth in the league in scoring. He also finished the season with four straight 100-yard rushing games.
Trace Bruckler was on of the league’s top tight ends and he had the fourth-most receptions among all MW tight ends. He was a key component of UNM’s run game, not just lining up at tight end but also as a fullback and H-back. In 52 pass blocking plays where he was not a part of the pattern he has a perfect pass blocking percentage with no sacks, hurries or hits allowed.
Defensively, Bryce Santana, Noah Avinger and Christian Ellis were all named honorable mention. For Santana, his 32 tackles were the most by a Lobo defensive lineman this season and he was rated by PFF as second in the Mountain West in coverage among defensive lineman, grading at 70.6 (half the snaps). He also led all MW defensive lineman with at least 30 tackles in lowest missed tackle percentage, per PFF.
Ellis led UNM with 99 tackles as a safety and is finished tied for fifth in TFLs with 3.5. He ranked fifth in the Mountain West, and second among all MW defensive backs with 99 tackles. He scored the opening touchdown of the season on a 41-yard fumble recovery, and also has an interception (at Arizona) and four PBUs. His played 900 defensive snaps, the most of any player in the Mountain West, and the most by any defensive back in the FBS. He had three double-digit tackle games with 11 against Montana State, 14 against Utah State and 10 against Colorado State.
Avinger ranked second on UNM and seventh in the MW (3rd among DBs) with 91 tackles, and he was third on the team with five PBUs and he leads with 45 solo tackles. He scored on a 13-yard fumble return against Montana State and also has an interception. He played 869 defensive snaps, the third-most of any defensive back in the FBS. He also had two double-digit tackle games with 14 against Montana State, and 15 against Wyoming.