Sep. 15—Beat a Power Four opponent and the weekly awards will come.
New Mexico linebacker Jaxton Eck was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
The 6-foot-1, 224-pound junior and son of UNM head coach Jason Eck made 11 total tackles, forced one fumble and recorded a pass breakup in a 35-10 win Friday at UCLA. He has a team-high 34 total tackles through three games, and trails only Fresno State linebacker Jadon Pearson (35 tackles) for the conference lead.
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An Idaho transfer, Eck is the first Lobo to earn one of the league’s weekly awards this season. Defensive back Jermarius Lewis was the last UNM defender selected for the honor after he intercepted two passes in a 42-21 win over Hawaii on Oct. 21, 2023.
“Thankful to have so many great players and coaches around me that make my job easy!” he posted Monday on X. “Excited to keep stacking (wins) with my brothers!”
Against UCLA, Eck played the most snaps (53) of any player on UNM’s defense. Per Pro Football Focus, he was the Lobos’ best run defender, earning an 88.5 grade against the Bruins; UNM held UCLA to just 109 yards (five yards per carry) on the ground.
In doing so, the Lobos (2-1) snapped a 22-game losing streak to Power Four programs and notched their first-ever win over a Big Ten program. UNM last beat a power conference opponent in 2008, toppling Arizona 36-28 at University Stadium in Albuquerque.
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Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week; Hawaii kicker Kansei Mantsuzawa was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week; and Wyoming running back Samuel Harris was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week.
