Jaxton Eck – Co-Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-MW (LB)
Jaxton Eck is the first conference Defensive Player of the Year since Johnny Jackson was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1982.
Eck leads New Mexico in tackles with 126, and he has 6.5 TFLs (22 yards), 1.5 sacks (15 yards), two PBUs, three QB hurries, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a safety. He is currently eighth nationally in tackles per game, averaging 50, and he is eighth in total tackles with 126
Overall, he has seven games of double-digit tackles, and he was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after UNM’s 35-10 win at UCLA in The Rose Bowl. His 18 tackles against Boise State are tied for the seventh-most by any FBS player in a game this season. He recorded a safety as UNM jumped out to a 19-0 lead on the way to a 33-14 win over Utah State.
Eck is ranked No. 1 according to PFF among all Mountain West linebackers in rushing defense with an 89.5 rating. He is second among Mountain West linebackers in “Stops” according to PFF (the number of plays that represent a failure by the offense) with 55, and he is 11th nationally.
He has not allowed a touchdown pass despite being targeted 37 times, the most targets at a Mountain West linebacker without allowing a touchdown. He also has played the sixth-most snaps of any Mountain West linebacker (736), and he has the most snaps of any linebacker to have not committed a penalty this season.
He has helped UNM to the nation’s No. 1 most improved rushing defense (99.5 yards per game fewer) and the nation’s No. 3 most improved scoring defense (15.5 points per game fewer).
Eck is the fifth Lobo to win Defensive Player of the Year honors. Others were Eddie Stokes (DL, 1963, WAC), John Urban (DT, 1972, WAC), Robin Cole (LB, 1976, WAC), and Johnny Jackson (LB, 1982, WAC). In 1999, Brian Urlacher was named the Mountain West Most Valuable Player, but not Player of the Year.
Dorian Thomas – First Team All-MW (TE)
Thomas is second on the team with 53 receptions and 545 yards, and he leads the team in touchdown receptions with four. He also leads all Mountain West tight ends in receptions and yards, with 18 more receptions than the second-place tight end and 158 more yards than the second-place tight end.
He ranks third nationally among all tight ends in receptions with 53 catches, third nationally among all tight ends with 545 yards, and tied for fourth nationally with four touchdown receptions. He is the only tight end in the nation with a 10-catch, two-touchdown game, and he did that against No. 14 Michigan in his first collegiate start and is one of only three tight ends to have a double-digit reception game this season.
He has been remarkably consistent with at least two receptions in every game this season. Of his 53 catches, 27 have gone for first downs, and that is tied for the fourth-most among all FBS tight ends.
Keyshawn James-Newby – First Team All-MW (DL)
James-Newby is fourth on the team in tackles with 48, and he leads UNM in sacks with 8.0 for 48 yards and tackles for loss with 13.0 for 57 yards with 5 PBUs and two forced fumbles. He leads the Mountain West with 8.0 sacks and is second in the Mountain West with 13.0 TFLs.
Per PFF, he leads all Mountain West players, regardless of position, in total pressures with 63 and hurries with 45, and he is second in quarterback hits with nine. Also, per PFF, he is tied for second in the FBS among all defensive players in total pressures and second in hurries. He leads the Mountain West in PFF pass rush grade at 91.4.
He had season-highs in tackles twice, with six against San Jose State and Colorado State, and he is a key reason UNM has held 10 of 12 opponents under its season average for rushing and has held four opponents to just double-digit rushing yards.
Damon Bankston – First Team All-MW (KR)
He leads the Mountain West in kickoff return average with a 30.4-yard average (334 yards on 11 returns) with a 100-yard touchdown, the longest kickoff return touchdown in the Mountain West this season. He is just short of the NCAA minimum to be listed, but his average would rank second nationally.
He had a 100-yard kickoff return against Boise State and a 49-yard kickoff return against Idaho State.
He is third in the Mountain West in all-purpose yardage per game at 107.2, and he has 11 all-purpose plays of 30 yards or more, tied for ninth-most nationally.
He is the only player in the country with an 80-yard reception (84 vs. UNLV) and an 80-yard kickoff return (100 vs. Boise State). He is the only player in the country to have a 100-yard rushing game (154 at UCLA), a 100-yard receiving game (122 at UNLV), and a 100-yard kickoff return game (100 at Boise State), all on the road.
He has four games of 150+ all-purpose yards (203 at UCLA, 197 at UNLV, 188 at Boise State, 166 vs. Idaho State), and he is also UNM’s leading rusher with 578 yards and is New Mexico’s third-leading receiver with 26 catches.
He is one of two players in the nation with 500 yards rushing, 25 receptions, and 250 kickoff return yards, and one of four players in the FBS with multiple rushing touchdowns, multiple receiving touchdowns, and a kickoff return touchdown.
Kaden Robnett – Second Team All-MW (OL)
Robnett has started every game and has played all but two snaps on the season. He has not allowed a sack in 2025, and has allowed just one hit in 423 drop-backs, and he leads all centers in the Mountain West in PFF pass blocking at 78.1 in true pass sets.
He has played 796 snaps at center in his first season at the FBS level after 94 over two FCS seasons.
Luke Drzewiecki – Honorable Mention (K)
Drzewiecki has been nearly perfect on the season, going 36-for-36 on extra points and is 15-for-16 on field goals. He is second in the Mountain West in field goal kicking percentage at 93.8% and third in most extra points without a miss, with his 36.
He is a three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week and was the first Lobo in 22 years to win back-to-back conference honors. He is a perfect 6-for-6 from 40 yards and beyond and has at least one made field goal in every game this season except for one in which he didn’t attempt one.
His 81 points are a career-high and rank fifth in the Mountain West for kickers, and seventh overall for all players.
Daniel Hughes – Honorable Mention (P)
A Ray Guy Award semifinalist, he is averaging 45.9 yards per punt with a net of 43.6 on just 37 punts with 12 inside the 20 and 13 punts of 50 yards or more. He has not shown up in the stats all season because of the lack of punts by UNM, but would be 16th nationally in punting.
New Mexico is seventh nationally in net punting, and the 43.6-yard average would easily be a school record, and it would be the second-best net punting mark in Mountain West history. He has averaged at least 46.0 yards per punt in seven of the 12 games this season (and it’s really seven of 11 as UNM didn’t punt against Nevada). Opponents are averaging 3.9 per return, and opponents have muffed three of his punts (8.1%).
Brian Booker – Honorable Mention (DL)
Booker’s inside presence is a big reason why UNM has the most improved rushing defense in the nation. He has 16 tackles, 2.5 TFLs for 5 yards, one sack for 3 yards, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup, with all of those stats, save two tackles, coming in Mountain West play.
He recorded a season-best four tackles against Utah State in a 33-14 win.
Keagan Johnson – Honorable Mention (WR)
Johnson leads UNM in receiving with 57 catches, 730 yards, and 66.4 yards per game, and he ranks second in the Mountain West in receptions per game, fifth in the Mountain West in catches, fifth in receiving yards per game, and sixth in total yards. Has broken the 100-yard mark three times this season with 158 against UNLV, 145 against San Jose State, and 135 against New Mexico State.
His three games of 135 yards or more receiving are the second-most in the Mountain West, and they are tied for the third-most in the entire FBS.
Per PFF, his 73.8 grade is third in the Mountain West among all receivers (among 50% target rate), and his eight contested catches are tied for second in the Mountain West (per PFF).
Brett Karhu – Honorable Mention (DL)
Has 26 tackles, 10.5 for losses of 50 yards, and 7.0 sacks for 43 yards with a pass breakup and a forced fumble. He is second on the team in sacks and TFLs, and in the Mountain West, he is tied for fourth in sacks (7.0) and TFLs (10.5).
Has recorded a TFL in nine of UNM’s 12 games this season, and a sack in five of UNM’s eight conference games. His pass breakup was a tipped ball that UNM picked off and returned into Colorado State territory in a 10-10 game in the fourth quarter, setting up the go-ahead touchdown, and his sack and forced fumble set up a field goal in UNM’s 20-3 win over Air Force.
