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Seeking to fill several key holes on the roster, head coach Doug Martin utilized all of New Mexico State’s 25 available scholarships on National Signing Day. The Aggies welcomed three gray shirts from the previous class while signing 13 junior college transfers and nine high school athletes.
New Mexico State 2017 Signing Class
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Previous School | 247 Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Previous School | 247 Composite |
| Jaylon Mascorro | LB | 6'1" | 230 | Refugio HS (TX) | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Josh Adkins | QB | 6'2" | 210 | Smithson Valley HS (TX) | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Jeremy Hodge | QB | 6'2" | 210 | Parish Episcopal HS (TX) | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Anthony Nash | DB | 5'11" | 200 | Reedley College (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Komotay Koffie | DB | 6'1" | 195 | North Dakota State College of Science (ND) | ⭐⭐ |
| Ron LaForce | DB | 6'1" | 205 | College of the Sequoias (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Nakota Shepard-Creer | DB | 6'2" | 205 | Santa Barbara CC (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Marcus Buckley | DL | 6'2" | 250 | Weatherford HS (TX) | ⭐⭐ |
| Dylan Brown | K | 6'0" | 170 | Phoenix College (AZ) | ⭐⭐ |
| Trevor Brohard | LB | 6'3" | 210 | Los Lunas HS (NM) | ⭐⭐ |
| Matthew Young | LB | 6'2" | 230 | Onate HS (NM) | ⭐⭐ |
| Lui Fa'amasino | LB | 6'0" | 225 | Los Angeles Harbor (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Leon McQuaker | LB | 6'3" | 215 | Eastern Arizona College (AZ) | ⭐⭐ |
| Tim O'Donnell | LS | 5'9" | 240 | North Dakota State College of Science (ND) | ⭐⭐ |
| Isaac McClain | OL | 6'2" | 315 | Santa Barbara CC (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Kris'Sean Edwards | OL | 6'4" | 265 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (OK) | ⭐⭐ |
| Davis Harker | OL | 6'3" | 315 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (OK) | ⭐⭐ |
| Billy Sharmoug | OL | 6'2" | 315 | Santa Barbara CC (CA) | ⭐⭐ |
| Jon Vogt | OL | 6'3" | 310 | New Mexico Military Institute (NM) | ⭐⭐ |
| Cameron Matthews | QB | 6'3" | 210 | Trinity Valley (TX) | ⭐⭐ |
| Josh Foley | RB | 5'11" | 200 | Rio Rancho HS (NM) | ⭐⭐ |
| Xander Yaberough | TE | 6'6" | 245 | Roosevelt HS (TX) | ⭐⭐ |
| Bryce Roberts | TE | 6'4" | 240 | Mustang HS (OK) | ⭐⭐ |
| Gaven Swinson | WR | 6'3" | 200 | Mayfield HS (NM) | ⭐⭐ |
| Tevis Abraham | WR | 6'1" | 200 | Southern Lab HS (LA) | ⭐⭐ |
Seven of the junior college transfers that the Aggies signed were able to enroll early which means they will be able to join the team for spring practices. This will play a major factor in their acclimation of the system and should lead to an easy plug-and-play situation for the newcomers.
Seeking to replace two graduating seniors on the offensive line, the Aggies brought in five offensive linemen, all five of which are coming from the junior college ranks. Kris’Sean Edwards and Davis Harker have joined the program from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College while Jon Vogt will make the three-hour trip west from New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell.
Teammates Issac McClain and Billy Sharmoug will also transfer from Santa Barbara Community College in California. Recruiting five junior college prospects without any high school talent is an extremely rare and risky move. The Aggies will have to hope that they find at least three starters out of the group and are able to find some developmental talent in the next recruiting class or potentially redshirt some of the transfers that fail to find a starting spot.
New Mexico State brought in five linebackers at their next biggest position of need. Junior college transfers Lui Fa’amasino of Los Angeles Harbor and Leon McQuaker of Eastern Arizona College will seek to contribute immediately. The Aggies also added three high school linebackers. Trevor Brohard of Los Lunas High School in Las Cruces is a promising prospect thanks to his excellent size at 6’3”, 210 pounds. Matthew Young, also a local New Mexico product, joins him at 6’2”, 230 pounds.
NMSU also made their biggest splash of the recruiting cycle with Jaylon Mascorro. A three star athlete that earned scholarship offers from eight programs including Kansas, Houston, and UTSA, Mascorro saw snaps at running back, quarterback, and linebacker during his state championship campaign in 2016 at Refugio High School in Texas. Mascorro is the highest rated recruit to sign with NMSU since Brandon Hines in the class of 2013. Since Hines didn’t make it to campus in Las Cruces, Mascorro has a chance to be the Aggies’ highest rated incoming freshman of all time.
With seniors Tyler Matthews and Tyler Rogers both out of the program the Aggies desperately need an answer under center. Doug Martin will have three new fresh faces to work with including some enticing options.
Grey shirt Cameron Matthews will join the program after sitting out the 2016 season. He passed for over 5,000 yards in his high school career at Trinity Valley in Crowley, Texas. He will square off against New Mexico State’s lone three-star offensive recruits in the class, Josh Adkins and Jeremy Hodge. A San Antonio product, Adkins passed for 6,831 yards in his three-year varsity career. While Adkins is an archetypal pro-style quarterback, Hodge is more dangerous with his feet. If Hodge doesn’t find his way into the two deep under center coach Martin would be wise to find a way to get the ball into Hodge’s hands in other ways.
Similar to the offensive line, NMSU took four defensive backs in this class, all of which will transfer from a junior college. All four guys have great size as they average out to stand at 6’1”, 201 pounds.
New Mexico State added two specialists to round out the junior college transfers. Kicker Dylan Brown of Phoenix College will join the team while deep snapper Tim O’Donnell will seek to set him up with well-placed snaps. Originally a rugby player in Australia, O’Donnell will transfer from North Dakota State College of Science.
The remaining additions to the roster include defensive lineman Marcus Buckley, running back Josh Foley, tight ends Xander Yarberough and Bryce Roberts, and wide receivers Gaven Swinson and Tevis Abraham.