New Mexico football has a real problem on its hands with fall camp underway: the guy who was supposed to be the unquestioned starter isn't practicing, and nobody's saying when that changes. Pete Nakos reported there's no timetable for Jack Layne's return from offseason elbow surgery, with the Lobos gearing up to open the 2026 season against Central Michigan.
This isn't a fresh injury. Layne reportedly tore the common flexor tendon in his throwing elbow last season during warmups before a 35-10 win over UCLA, and the tear went undiagnosed for months. He played through it the rest of the way, which makes his 2025 output that much more impressive: 213-for-327 for 2,486 yards, 13 touchdowns, and a school-record 65.1% completion rate in his fifth-year season after transferring in from Idaho.
The tendon was only cleaned up surgically in late December, once doctors realized how significant the tear actually was. Layne then missed most of spring practice recovering, and now he's missing fall camp too — a pattern for an elbow that's given him trouble basically his entire UNM tenure.
Coach Eck has called Layne the frontrunner for the job even sidelined, but frontrunner doesn't mean lock. With Layne out indefinitely, backups James Laubstein, Luke Moga and Toa Fa'avae are getting real reps to make a case for QB1 before the Lobos kick off.
That opener carries its own weight beyond Layne's health. New Mexico hosts Central Michigan on September 5 in what will be the Lobos' first home opener against an FBS opponent since 2014 and the first-ever meeting between the two programs. A statement game for a program hoping to build off last year's breakout, and it might have to happen without its best quarterback under center.