NMSU football nabs 11 All-Conference honors

DALLAS, Texas - Tuesday morning, the Conference USA office announced the list of all-conference award winners for the 2024 football season based on a vote by the league’s 10 head coaches.

In total, the Aggies garnered 11 selections, including six members which were named Second Team All-CUSA.

Among those who earned Second Team All-CUSA distinction were running backs Seth McGowan and Mike Washington, offensive lineman AJ Vaipulu, linebacker Tyler Martinez, kicker Abraham Montaño and punter George Eberle.

Additionally, center Canaan Yarro secured All-CUSA Honorable Mention recognition.

Meanwhile, a quartet of Aggies were named to the All-CUSA Freshman Team as wide receiver TJ Pride, offensive lineman BJ Tolo, defensive back Tayden Barnes and defensive tackle Malaki Ta’ase were each awarded following their first season of collegiate action.

Seth McGowan was a member of one of the best backfield duos at NM State in recent memory as he was one of two Aggies to eclipse 750 rushing yards on the season - marking the first time a pair of Aggies accomplished this feat since the 2000 season.

McGowan paced the Aggie backfield with 153 carries for 842 yards to average 5.3 yards per carry.

Ultimately, McGowan finished fourth in the conference in rushing yards per game – averaging 67.8 yards while helping the Aggies finish fourth in the conference in team rushing yards per game.

The junior from Mesquite, Texas, was also a vital piece of the passing offense as he finished the year second on the team in receptions (23) while ranking third on the team in receiving yards (277).

With Additionally, McGowan tallied three rushing touchdowns while also leading the Aggies with three receiving touchdowns.

In his first year with the Crimson and White, McGowan finished with over 100 all-purpose yards three times to help him conclude the 2024 season ranked ninth in the league in all-purpose yards per game at 90.8.

With McGowan’s selection, this marks the second year that a member of the Aggie backfield has earned All-CUSA honors.

McGowan’s season was highlighted by a breakout performance against Middle Tennessee in which he guided the Aggies to a win behind 83 rushing yards, 96 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Fellow Second Team All-CUSA honoree AJ Vaipulu helped lead the charge for the Aggie run game as he finished the year as the only offensive lineman to start all 12 games this season – making 11 starts at left guard while also serving as the starting center on the road at Sam Houston on Sept. 21.

Vaipulu, a product of Riverside, Calif., helped the Aggies produce the league’s fourth-best rushing offense at 179.2 yards per game.

This mark also ranked 44th in the nation. Vaipulu becomes the third offensive lineman in program history to earn All-CUSA honors – joining teammates Shiyazh Pete and Canaan Yarro.

Defensively, Tyler Martinez represented the lone second team selection for the Aggies as the junior finished the season third in the conference tackles per game – averaging 8.0 tackles per outing. Martinez also paced the Aggies in total tackles with 96 to rank fourth in the conference. This mark was also good for second among CUSA linebackers – trailing only FIU’s Travion Barnes.

The Albuquerque, N.M., native rounded out the year with 10 or more tackles in three games this season, including a season-high 12 tackles against both New Mexico and LA Tech in a three-week span.

With 64 tackles in the Aggies’ eight league games, Martinez ranked seventh in total tackles and ninth in tackles per game against conference foes.

NM State’s specialists were also among the best in the conference and were led by a pair of second team all-conference selections in kicker Abraham Montaño and punter George Eberle. Montaño concluded the year 18-of-23 on field goal attempts and a perfect 22-of-22 on extra point attempts.

With 18 makes, Montaño finished first in the conference in made field goals while his success rate of 78.3% ranked second among CUSA kickers. Montaño also ranked first in field goals per game (1.5) while ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (6.3 points per game) and fourth in the conference in scoring among kickers.

Montaño also etched himself into both the NM State and Conference USA record books when he connected on a 59-yard field goal during the Aggies’ season finale versus UTEP.

The kick against the Miners marked the longest ever in program history while going down as the third-longest in Conference USA history.

The 59-yarder is also currently tied for the sixth-longest kick at the FBS level this season.

Earlier in the year, Montaño also split the uprights from 57 yards out to tie the previous program record in a game versus FIU.

Against the Panthers, he also hit a 53-yarder which led to the Salinas, Calif., native earning CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Nov. 4.

In total, Montaño finished the season with five kicks of 50-plus yards this season to lead all CUSA kickers this season.

He was also impressively accurate from short range as he finished a perfect 8-for-8 inside 40 yards.

George Eberle capped off the list of six Aggies to earn second team honors as he finished his final year with the program ranked first in the conference in yards per punt – averaging 44.7 yards per boot. This also currently ranks 17th in the nation in yards per punt.

The graduate student from Califon, N.J., tallied 62 punts on the year and recorded just three touchbacks while pinning 18 points inside the 20-yard line. Eberle also recorded a season-long punt of 61 yards in the Aggies’ rivalry bout against New Mexico on Sept. 28 while tallying 15 punts of 50-plus yards this season.

Senior captain Canaan Yarro also secured the second all-conference selection of his career as he picked up honorable mention recognition.

This season, the Provo, Utah, native started all but one game at center as he missed one game due to injury. With Yarro’s assistance, the Aggies finished with the fourth-best rushing offense in the conference – averaging 179.2 rushing yards per game. Earlier this season, Yarro was also the lone offensive lineman in the conference to earn CUSA All-Academic Team honors.

Fellow offensive lineman BJ Tolo is among a group of four Aggies which became the first in program history to be named to the All-CUSA Freshman Team.

This season, Tolo started nine of the Aggies’ 12 games as he earned eight starts at right guard and one at left guard.

As the only freshman on the Aggies’ offensive line, Tolo helped NM State average the fourth-most rushing yards per game in the conference.  

TJ Pride joined Tolo on the All-CUSA Freshman Offensive Team after a standout freshman season in which he finished as the team’s leader in both receptions and receiving yards with 34 catches for 374 yards. Pride was also second among Aggie wideouts in touchdown receptions with two on the year.

With nearly 400 receiving yards, the DeSoto, Texas, native finished the year ranked first in receiving yards among true freshman in Conference USA.

He was also the only true freshman in the league to finish the year among the top 25 in receiving yards this season.

In total, Pride paced the Aggies in receptions in five games this season, including leading the way in the final game of the season when he recorded a career-high in both catches (6) and receiving yards (81).

Defensively, true freshman Malaki Ta’ase also secured a spot on the All-CUSA Freshman Team as he accounted for one of two defensive tackle spots on the defensive freshman team.

Ta’ase witnessed his role increase throughout the year and ultimately recorded 33 total tackles, including one and a half tackles for loss, one sack, five quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

Ta’ase concluded the year ranked 10th on the Aggie defense in total tackles and recorded at least three tackles in each of NM State’s final five games.

The Mesa, Ariz., native turned in a breakout performance on Oct. 9, when he posted a season-high six tackles and one sack against Jax State.

The final Aggie to receive recognition from the conference was redshirt freshman Tayden Barnes who played his way into a spot alongside Ta’ase on the All-CUSA Freshman Defensive Team.

Coming off a year in which he was sidelined due to injury, Barnes submitted a breakout season for the Aggies in 2024.

Barnes finished the year ranked third on the team in total tackles as he tallied 57 tackles – a mark which also ranked 38th among CUSA defenders this season.

Barnes was a force in the Aggie secondary as he recorded eight pass breakups, including two interceptions, to rank ninth in the conference.

The native of Amarillo, Texas, also played a key role in the season-opener as he secured the game-sealing interception to help the Aggies secure the win over SEMO.

The interception coupled with a team-high nine tackles helped Barnes secure the season’s first Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honor.

In total, Barnes recorded five or more tackles in six games this season.

COMPLETE LIST OF AGGIE ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

Second Team All-CUSA

Offense

Seth McGowan

Mike Washington

AJ Vaipulu

Defense

Tyler Martinez

Special Teams

Abraham Montaño

George Eberle

All-CUSA Honorable Mention

Offense

Canaan Yarro

All-CUSA Freshman Team

Offense

BJ Tolo

TJ Pride

Defense

Malaki Ta'ase

Tayden Barnes