LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Coming off the Aggies' most dominant win of the Tony Sanchez era, the Aggies will make their way to the east coast to take on Liberty in a midweek bout at Williams Stadium. The matchup against the Flames will serve as the second of three straight nationally-televised games for the Aggie football program. On Tuesday, the Aggies will look to surpass last year's win total with a fourth victory, a mark that the Aggies have reached just three times in the last 12 seasons.
 
WEEK SIX
Who: NM State at Liberty
Where: Lynchburg, Va. – Williams Stadium (25,000)
When: Tuesday, October 14, 2025 – 5 p.m. MT
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Jordan Kent
Analyst: Adam Breneman
 
Radio: 99.5 FM KXPZ / TuneIn App
Play-by-Play: Adam Young
Color Analyst: Cory Lucas
 
Live Stats: NMStateSports.com/Stats
 
PICK SIX                                                                      
4 - NM State will look to move to 3-0 in home games this season, a mark that it has not accomplished since 2007 and has only reached twice since 1992
2 - With a second defensive touchdown in its last time out, NM State ranks tied for fourth in the nation in defensive touchdowns. This also marked the first time since 2018 that the Aggies have multiple defensive TDs in one year.
6 - Tuesday's trip to Lynchburg will mark the Aggies' sixth road game at Liberty since first playing the Flames in 2018. It will also be the Aggies first visit to Virginia since the 2023 CUSA Championship Game.
10 - NM State enters its third CUSA game of the year, boasting the 10th-ranked red zone defense in the entire country, allowing opponents to come away with points on nine of their 13 opportunities.
7 - Seven different Aggies recorded their first start with the program against Sam Houston two weeks ago. This included leading rusher Kadarius Calloway and leading receiver TK King.
6 - With six midweek wins over league opponents since 2023, NM State ranks second among CUSA teams in wins since Conference USA unveiled its #WeekdayCUSA scheduling initiative.
 
SPECIAL START                                                  
A win in their last outing moved the Aggies to 3-2 on the season to mark the first time they tallied three wins in the first five games of the season since 2008. In total, the Aggies have started 3-2 or better just six times since 1975 and will now look to improve to 4-2 for just the second time during this time span, going 4-2 in 1992.
 
#WEEKDAYCUSA                                              
The midweek matchup between the Aggies and Flames comes amid the third season of "Weekday CUSA," which will see all October league games played on midweek evenings. In total, Conference USA teams will play 18 midweek games this season, with the Aggies featured at home against Sam Houston (Oct. 2) and Western Kentucky (Nov. 1), along with this road contest at Liberty (Oct. 14).
 
Since 2023, the Aggies are a combined 6-2 in games played during the week. This includes going a perfect 4-0 in October in 2023. In the last two seasons, only Jax State (8-1) holds a better record than the Aggies in midweek CUSA games.
 
#WeekdayCUSA Records
Jax State – 8-1 (.888)
NM State – 6-2 (.750)
Liberty – 5-2 (.714)
WKU – 5-2 (.714)
UTEP – 3-5 (.375)
LA Tech – 3-5 (.375)
Sam Houston – 3-6 (.333)
MTSU – 2-5 (.286)
FIU – 2-6 (.250)
Kennesaw State – 1-3 (.230)
 
FAMILIAR HILL                                                   
The road game at Liberty will mark the Aggies' sixth trip to Lynchburg since 2018. This will also be the first time returning to Williams Stadium since appearing in the 2023 CUSA Championship Game. In total, the Aggies are 1-4 in Lynchburg with their lone win coming in 2022, when the Aggies entered the game as 24.5-point underdogs and went on to win 49-14.
 
MOVE THE STICKS                                           
NM State finished last Thursday's game against Sam Houston 9-13 (69.2%) on third down to mark their best performance on third down since Sept. 2, 2023, when the team finished 7-10 (70%) against Western Illinois. It also marks the team's best third-down percentage against an FBS team since at least 2015.
 
MINIMALLY NEEDING MAX                      
Aggie punter Max Dean recorded just one punt in the win over the Bearkats, marking the first time with one or fewer punts since Sept. 2, 2023, versus Western Illinois. This also marks the fewest number of punts against an FBS opponent since at least 2013.
 
HOME SWEET HOME                                      
NM State's victory over Sam Houston marked the program's first 3-0 start to a home schedule since the 2007 season when it knocked off Southeast Louisiana, UTEP and Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
 
The 37-10 victory gave the Aggies just their third 3-0 start at home since 1992. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Aggies are now 23-22; however, during this stretch, NM State has maintained a 14-7 record in front of its home crowd.
 
BACK-TO-BACK                                                  
NM State opened the season with back-to-back wins and will now seek its second set of consecutive wins this year. Since 2001, the Aggies have recorded multiple two-game win streaks just once, doing so in 2022 when they defeated UMass and Lamar in back-to-back weeks before ending the year on a three-game winning streak.
 
REST VERSUS RUST                                        
After a five-day break in between its last two games, NM State will enter Tuesday's game following a 12-day break, which marks its second of three breaks in its schedule of 10 days or longer. Meanwhile, Liberty will host the Aggies on short rest after making the trip to nearby UTEP on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
 
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE  
After finishing 129th in the nation in turnover margin in 2024, the Aggie defense has flipped the script and now has forced at least one turnover in every game this season. With the emphasis on taking the ball away, the Aggies currently rank second in the conference in turnover margin, forcing 10 turnovers while giving the ball away seven times.
 
Additionally, for the last two weeks the Aggies have flipped these turnovers into immediate points.  Following a 71-yard interception return by Naeten Mitchell in the fourth quarter against Sam Houston, the Aggies now rank tied for fourth in the nation in defensive touchdowns with two. With Mitchell's pick-six and a fumble recovered for a touchdown by Bernock Iya against New Mexico, the Aggies are one of just 22 teams in the country with multiple defensive scores this season.
 
This also marks the first time since 2018 that the Aggies have recorded multiple defensive touchdowns in a season. 2018 also represents the last time that the Aggie defense scored touchdowns in back-to-back games when they returned an interception against New Mexico on Sept. 15, 2018, before taking a fumble to the house against UTEP on the following Saturday.
 
NM State also recovered two fumbles against the Bearkats last week, bringing its season total to five, which ranks first in CUSA and 12th nationally.
 
NEXT MAN UP                                    
Due in large part to injuries among key starters, a total of seven Aggies made their first start with the program last week against Sam Houston. This included Kadarius Calloway, who paced the Aggies in rushing (16 carries, 68 yards) and TK King who finished as the team's leading receiver (6 catches, 132 yards).
 
INSTANT IMPACT                                             
Not only did TK King make his first start for the Aggies since transferring in from Wyoming, but this also marked King's Aggie debut. The speedster from Houston made an immediate impact to the Aggie offense. After tallying a 12-yard reception on the Aggies' first offensive play of the game, he  later hauled in a 40-yard pass and a 54-yard pass to set the Aggies up in scoring position. His 54-yard reception marked the second-longest catch by an Aggie this season, trailing only a 55-yard catch by Donovan Faupel in the season opener.
 
PROTECTING PAY DIRT                              
The Aggie defense has been near the top of the class in limiting its opponents in the red zone this season. Entering Tuesday, Aggie opponents are scoring on 69.2% of their red zone opportunities - a mark that currently ranks 10th in the nation.
 
SCOOP AND SCORE                        
In the Aggies' rivalry matchup against New Mexico on Saturday, safety Bernock Iya was able to log the Aggies' first scoop and score since October 27, 2018, when Shane Jackson returned a fumble for a touchdown against Texas State.
 
GO, GAVIN, GO                                   
Despite recording just one catch for seven yards in the Aggies' last outing, tight end Gavin Harris continues to have a strong start to his first year with the program. Harris now ranks 11th in the nation in receiving yards per game among all FBS tight ends with 46.8 yards per game. This also ranks first among CUSA tight ends and 11th among all CUSA pass catchers.
 
Thus far, Harris has logged at least three catches in four of the Aggies' five games after doing so just twice in his two-year collegiate career prior to joining the NM State program.
 
Additionally, Harris' lone touchdown catch of the season served as the game-winning score in the Aggies' 21-14 win over Tulsa on Sept. 6.
 
STEPPING IN AND STEPPING UP          
As is the case for every team in the nation, injuries have been something that the Aggies have had to maneuver early on this season. With injuries that have forced both Aggie linebackers Sone Aupiu and Tyler Martinez to miss some time, junior Tory Gethers has provided a spark. Gethers, who made his second career start last Thursday, now ranks second among all Aggies in total tackles with 31. This includes 24 tackles across the last three games.
 
FINDING FAUPEL                                              
With another four catches for 28 yards against Sam Houston, Faupel paces the Aggies in both receptions and receiving yards through five games, catching 23 passes for 312 yards. Last year, NM State only had two wide receivers reach this mark for the entire season and it took all 12 games for a receiver to eclipse this total in 2024.
 
Currently, Faupel is averaging 62.4 receiving yards per game to rank fourth among all CUSA receivers.
 
Faupel also flashed his arm against New Mexico on Sept. 27, as he became the first non-quarterback at NM State to throw a touchdown pass since 2021 when he connected with TJ Pride for a 34-yard touchdown pass on a trick play in the first quarter. The last non-quarterback to do so was Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda on Sept. 11, 2021, when he connected with Thomaz Whitford on the road against New Mexico.
 
AGGIE RUSHING ATTACK                           
NM State finished Saturday's game with 15 rushing yards to mark its fewest rushing yards since Nov. 13, 2021, when it rushed for nine yards against No. 3 Alabama. This did include nine sacks for negative 39 yards.
 
AIR AGGIE                                                               
With 19 completions for 255 yards last week, Logan Fife now has 98 completions for 1,270 passing yards this season. With this total, Fife has already eclipsed the output of the Aggies' leading passer in 2024 as Parker Awad tallied 74 completions for 1,079 yards across seven games of action. Using a multi-quarterback approach last year, the Aggies combined to throw for 1,718 total yards, leaving Fife just 448 yards from equaling last year's passing total.
 
GOOD ON GOOD                                                 
Liberty will enter Tuesday's contest with the 15th-ranked passing defense in the nation, allowing opponents to tally just 154.2 passing yards per game. Meanwhile, the Aggies will bring a passing offense to Lynchburg, which ranks second among all CUSA teams this season, logging 261.2 passing yards per game.
 
FIRST CLASS PJ                                                   
In the Aggies' outing against LA Tech on Sept. 13, wide receiver PJ Johnson III became the first Aggie to record over 150 receiving yards in a single game since 2017. Johnson III tallied a game-high 157 yards and one touchdown on seven catches, including 87 yards after the catch.
 
The last Aggie to accomplish this feat was future fourth-round NFL Draft pick Jaleel Scott, who notched 174 receiving yards and one touchdown on nine catches in a road bout against SEC foe Arkansas on Sept. 30, 2017.
 
For Johnson III, this surpassed his previous career-high of 90 yards, which he recorded in the Aggies' final game of the season last year.
 
NATE THE GREAT                                             
Following another exceptional performance on Saturday that included a team-high 10 tackles and an interception returned for a touchdown, Aggie safety Naeten Mitchell now serves as the defense's leader in total tackles with 44. With his early season production, the redshirt sophomore from Temple, Texas, ranks third in the conference in tackles per game with 8.8, while also producing the most solo tackles among CUSA defenders this year with 28. His 28 solo takedowns also ranks tied for seventh at the FBS level.
 
TREMENDOUS TRANSFERS                      
Several transfers have contributed to the Aggies' success on the defensive side of the ball. Through five games, three of the Aggies' top five tacklers joined the team in the offseason as Jamall Thompson Jr. and Tory Gethers rank tied for second on the team with 31 total tackles and Ezra Christensen ranks fifth with 26 tackles.
 
Additionally, both Christensen and Thompson Jr. enter Tuesday rank first and second on the team in sacks with three and two, respectively.
 
FANTASTIC FIFE                                                
In the Aggies' victory over Tulsa, Logan Fife submitted one of the more impressive passing performances among Aggie quarterbacks in recent history. Against the Golden Hurricane, Fife finished with 28 completions for 252 yards on 45 attempts. His 28 completions marked the most completions for an Aggie quarterback in a single game since Nov. 6, 2021, when Jonah Johnson had 30 completions at home against Utah State.
 
FEAR THE FRONT LINE                                
Through five weeks, the Aggie defense has tallied eight sacks, 28 tackles for loss and 27 quarterback hurries. This charge has been led by Jamall Thompson Jr. (2 sacks, 6 TFLs) and Ezra Christensen (3 sacks, 5 TFLs) thus far.
 
With this, the Aggies are already more than half of the way to their sack total in 2024 (14) and have already surpassed their number of quarterback pressures last season (25).
 
SECOND YEAR UNDER SANCHEZ          
NM State is amid its second season under the leadership of Head Coach Tony Sanchez, who led the Aggies to three wins last season - defeating SEMO, LA Tech and Middle Tennessee. This marks Sanchez's seventh season as a head coach of an FBS program after previously spending five seasons coaching UNLV (2015-19).
 
In year one under Sanchez, the Aggies put forth one of the best rushing attacks in Conference USA as they finished the year average of 180.0 rushing yards per game to rank third in the conference and 40th in the nation.
 
During Sanchez's first season, the Aggies saw 11 individuals earn all-conference honors, including six Second Team All-CUSA selections.
 
This year, the Aggies will seek their third appearance in a bowl game in a four-year span - a feat that has never been done at NM State.
 
AGGIE THROUGH AND THROUGH      
From student-athlete to head ball coach, Tony Sanchez has had crimson running through his veins since the day he transferred to NM State as a player. Now, Sanchez is one of just 15 coaches at the FBS level to be the head coach at his alma mater.
 
Following two seasons at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., Sanchez began his Aggie playing career in 1994. During his time, Sanchez made 54 catches for 741 yards and five touchdowns to help the Aggies win seven games. His career was highlighted by a senior season in which he tallied 42 catches for 576 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Sanchez's first win as a player came on Sept. 17, 1994, in El Paso, Texas, where the Aggies earned a 23-22 come-from-behind victory over UTEP after falling behind 19-0 to open the game. Sanchez collected his first win as the Aggies' head coach on Aug. 31, 2024, when NM State defeated SEMO 23-16.
 
Head Coaches at Alma Mater
Trent Bray - Oregon State
Jeff Brohm - Louisville
Troy Calhoun - Air Force
Timmy Chang - Hawaii 
Mario Cristobal - Miami (FL)
Michael Desormeaux - Louisiana
Kenny Dillingham - Arizona State
DeShaun Foster - UCLA
Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State
Brent Key - Georgia Tech
Clark Lea - Vanderbilt
Rich Rodriguez - West Virginia
Tony Sanchez - NM State
Kalani Sitake - BYU
Kirby Smart - Georgia
 
COACHING STAFF CONTINUITY                              
Despite some heavy turnover on the field, NM State entered the second season under Tony Sanchez with some continuity on its staff as nine full-time staffers returned for the 2025 season. Only David Yost (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) and John Cannova (Offensive Line) will be in their first season with the program.
 
SOPHOMORE SURGE                                      
This season, the Aggies brought back just four returning starters on the offensive side of the ball; however, this does include sophomore TJ Pride, the squad's leading pass catcher from a season ago. As a true freshman in 2024, Pride paced the Aggies in both receptions (34) and receiving yards (374), while also serving as the Aggies' primary punt returner.
 
INTRODUCING JOE FIELDS                        
Last week, New Mexico State University announced the hiring of Joe Fields as the institution's 24th Director of Athletics. Fields most recently spent one year at Tulsa and his time in collegiate athletics also includes stops at his alma mater, Syracuse, as well as Texas A&M. Fields also competed as a student-athlete himself, playing safety at Syracuse (2004-07), where he earned All-Big East Conference honors. He also spent one year in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers.
 
QB1                                                             
After finishing 127th among FBS teams in passing offense one season ago, Head Coach Tony Sanchez made it a point to bring in a proven passer in the offseason, and he did just that in the form of Montana transfer Logan Fife.
 
Fife joined the program after appearing in all 14 games and making eight starts while finishing as the Grizzlies' top passer with 167 completions for 1,890 yards and 14 touchdowns. He submitted a completion percentage of 63.5% in 2024 to help lead the Grizzlies to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
 
This marks Fife's second stint at the FBS level, as he spent a total of four seasons at Fresno State, where he began his collegiate career. With the Bulldogs, Fife appeared in 21 total games, including 12 in 2023 when he made two starts and threw for 642 yards and three touchdowns. He also played in 10 games in 2022, when he stepped in for an injured Jake Haener and made four starts. Entering the year, Fife had tallied 143 completions for 1,585 yards and six touchdowns at the FBS level.
 
This experience comes as a stark contrast to last year, when the Aggies entered the season with just one combined start at the FBS level among the seven individuals in the quarterback room.
 
Through the early portion of the season, Fife has recorded 227 or more passing yards in all four games - a mark that Aggie quarterbacks reached just once during 2024.
 
YEAR ONE WITH YOST                                 
Along with a new quarterback, the Aggies began the year with a new playcaller on the headset as David Yost entered his first season at NM State after spending the last three years as the offensive coordinator for CUSA foe FIU.
 
He brings with him 35 years of experience, including stints in well-respected conferences such as the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Mid-American. He boasts a reputation of being one of the top quarterback developers in college football and has helped the growth of former passers, including Justin Herbert (Oregon), Jordan Love (Utah State), Blaine Gabbert (Missouri) and Chase Daniel (Missouri).
 
DEFENSIVE PERSONNEL                             
This season, the Aggies are led by Defensive Coordinator Joe Morris, who is in his second season with the program after coming over from CUSA foe Sam Houston ahead of the 2024 season. Highlighted by returning starters Tyler Martinez, Sone Aupiu and Dakerric Hobbs, the Aggie defense is also bolstered by returners Nick Session, Josiah Charles, Naeten Mitchell and Cole Schnettgoecke, who returns from injury after starting the first two games last year.
 
Meanwhile, the Aggies also brought back defensive end Gabe Peterson, who played 12 games for the Crimson and White during the 2023 season in which NM State finished with double-digit wins for just the second time in program history.
 
RETURNING PRODUCTION                       
Offensive Coordinator David Yost was also tasked with finding a way to replace the offensive production that was lost in the offseason. Most notably, the Aggies returned just 16.6% of their total rushing yardage from the 2024 campaign. Following the departure of its top three rushers from last season, NM State reloaded its backfield with the addition of Cal transfer Kadarius Calloway and Utah transfer Dijon Stanley.
 
From a passing game perspective, the Aggies returned 62.8% of their passing yards and 53.9% of their receiving yards as they brought back their top passer (Parker Awad) and top two wideouts (TJ Pride and PJ Johnson III).
 
Defensively, NM State returned three of its top six tacklers from last year as Tyler Martinez, Sone Aupiu and Dakerric Hobbs remain in Las Cruces and also serve as the lone three returning starters from last season's defense.
 
AGGIE ADDITIONS                                      
In the offseason, the Aggies brought in a total of 54 newcomers, including 42 transfers - 15 coming from the FBS level. In addition to Logan Fife, Kadarius Calloway, Dijon Stanley, Gabe Peterson, some of the notable newcomers include wide receiver AJ Williams III, tight end Gavin Harris, offensive linemen Ma'Kyi Lee and Malik Williams, safeties Bernock Iya and Armahn Hale and defensive end Brad Vislisel.
 
ENJOY THE JOURNEY                                 
For NM State running back Kadarius Calloway, his path as a collegiate football player has been quite the journey. Born and raised in the small town of Philadelphia, Miss., Calloway enrolled at Alabama in the summer of 2021 after finishing his high school career rated a four-star recruit and the No. 2 overall recruit in the state of Mississippi.
 
Following a summer with the Crimson Tide, Calloway elected to withdraw from Alabama, stating he felt he had much more to learn about football before being ready to play big-time college football.
 
From Alabama, Calloway transferred to East Mississippi Community College, where he spent one season. His journey then led him to Old Dominion, where he had a breakout season in 2023, recording 88 carries for 623 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Ahead of his move to NM State, the running back played the 2024 season at Cal and appeared in 11 games, while tallying 124 rushing yards and one touchdown.
 
During the preseason, Calloway was rated the No. 1 running back in Conference USA by Rat Rundown and will serve as one half of the Aggies' two-headed monster in the backfield alongside Utah transfer Dijon Stanley.
   
WHERE ARE THEY FROM                           
This year's Aggie roster is made up of 107 players from 26 states and four countries. The largest percentage of the roster hails from California, with 23 Aggies coming from the Golden State. Additionally, 21 players are from Texas, 15 are from the Aggies' home state of New Mexico and 11 are from Arizona.
 
In addition to the United States of America, the NM State roster also features players from American Samoa, Australia and Germany.
  
SPECIALISTS RETURNING                         
Last season, one of the bright spots on the Aggie team was the special teams unit as both kicker Abraham Montaño and punter George Eberle landed themselves in the Aggie record book, while long snapper Charlie Eberle served as the long snapper for all punts, field goals and extra points and had zero snapping errors.
 
This season, the Aggies will be looking to replace all three of these key contributors and will serve as one of just 11 teams at the FBS level with one or fewer specialists returning among their field goal kicker, punter, kickoff kicker, holder, snapper, kick returner and punt returner.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS                                               
Ahead of the season, NM State held a team vote to select its team captains for the 2025 campaign. This year, the Aggie captains are made up of three offensive players and three defensive players.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, the Aggies are led by quarterback Logan Fife, offensive lineman Malik Williams and wide receiver PJ Johnson. Defensively, linebacker Tyler Martinez, cornerback Dakerric Hobbs and defensive lineman Cole Schnettgoecke will also serve as team captains.
 
DAD STRENGTH                                                   
NM State quarterback Logan Fife became a father during fall camp as his daughter was born on August 12, 2025.
 
TRUE FRESHMEN COME IN ALL SHAPES AND AGES
The youngest player and oldest player on this year's team are both true freshmen as offensive lineman Gavin Jones, born July 21, 2007, and kicker David Barker, born Sept. 10, 1999, were born a full 2,871 (seven years, 10 months and 11 days) days apart and are both beginning their first season of collegiate football.
 
YEAR THREE                                                 
The Aggies are now in their third year as members of Conference USA. NM State made quite the splash in its debut campaign - going 7-1 in league play on its way to an appearance in the CUSA Championship Game in addition to being one of only 27 FBS programs to reach the 10-win mark in 2023.
 
Combined with the 2024 season, NM State has now won nine games across its first two seasons in the new league.
 
For the second straight season, the league makeup has changed as Delaware and Missouri State make the move to bring the league total to 12 for the upcoming season. With an eight-game conference schedule, the Aggies will not see newcomer Delaware, Jax State or FIU this season, but will meet up with both Kennesaw State and Missouri State for the first time in program history.
 
HISPANIC HEAD COACHES                        
The Aggies' leader, Tony Sanchez, is one of just five Hispanic head coaches at the FBS level. Sanchez, a second-generation American of Puerto Rican and English descent, is also joined in this group by Baylor's Dave Aranda, Miami's Mario Cristobal, Duke's Manny Diaz and West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez.
 
Additionally, Sanchez is the first NM State head coach of Hispanic descent. Sanchez leads the Aggie program, which calls Las Cruces, a city with over 60% Hispanic population, home.
 
WHERE TO WATCH THE AGGIES         
After five of the Aggies' 12 games were featured on national networks in 2024, the Aggies will once again have their opportunities in the spotlight in 2025. Entering the year, NM State is slated to play its three midweek contests on CBS Sports Network.
 
The Aggies' week eight matchup against the Flames air live on CBS Sports Network and will mark the second consecutive nationally-televised games that the Aggies will play in.
 
WHERE TO LISTEN TO THE AGGIES  
Once again, all games this season will air live on 99.5 FM KXPZ for those in Las Cruces and the surrounding areas. Additionally, all home games will be available in Spanish on 96.7 FM La Equis with the call provided by Abel Rodriguez (play-by-play) and Eddie Rubio (analyst). Radio broadcasts for all Aggie games will also be available to listen to nationwide via the TuneIn App. Radio play-by-play for Tuesday's game will be provided by Adam Young, with analysis provided by Cory Lucas.
 
This will also mark the first season in over four decades that the Aggies will have a new play-by-play caller on the radio after Jack Nixon retired last season after 45 years of service.
 
FAMILY BUSINESS                                            
The Aggie team will have two student-athletes this season whose fathers also suited up for the Aggies during their respective playing days. NM State also rosters one student-athlete whose brother formerly played for the Aggies.
 
Redshirt sophomore David Barela is the son of David Barela, who also played for the Aggies from 1990-93.
 
Las Cruces native Siddeeq Shabazz will be the fourth member of the Shabazz family to wear Crimson & White. His father, Siddeeq Shabazz, played for the Aggies from 1999-02 and is one of 28 former Aggies to earn a spot in the NFL. Additionally, his family members, Shukree and Sina also played for the Aggies.
 
Meanwhile, Bryant Jackson is also the brother who previously wore the Crimson & White. Jackson first came to NM State along with his older brother, Bryce, in 2022. After transferring in from UNLV, Bryce served as a key cog on the Aggie defense en route to a victory in the Quick Lane Bowl. In his lone year with NM State, Jackson tallied 66 total tackles and two interceptions from his safety position.
 
For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).