The Lobos got the worst possible news heading into September. Jack Layne, New Mexico's starting quarterback, is out for the entire season, and there's no clear date for when he'll be back on the field.
Big news from New Mexico. Starting QB Jack Layne out for the year.
Pete Nakos filled in the rest of the picture: Layne's season-ending absence stems from surgery, and per his report, the recovery timeline is simply unknown right now. That's about as bleak an update as a program can get 8 days before kickoff.
New Mexico starting QB Jack Layne is out for the year due to surgery. His timeline for a return was unknown. Blow for Jason Eck’s program headed into Year 2. t.co/sXAguVLb5V
This one's been building for months. Layne, a 5th-year passer coming off a career year in which he threw for 2,486 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 65.1% of his throws, had offseason surgery to repair a torn tendon in his elbow. He missed all of spring practice recovering, and by fall camp he still wasn't throwing with his right arm the way he had earlier in the summer.
Eck had been careful with his language for weeks, saying only that there was no clear timeline and that Layne himself was frustrated with the setback. Now that caution reads like foreshadowing — the Lobos are officially moving on without their starter for the year.
That leaves New Mexico's season opener against Central Michigan on September 5 in the hands of a 3-man competition between Oregon transfer Luke Moga, 6th-year senior James Laubstein, and sophomore Toa Fa'avae. None of them had separated from the pack in fall camp, and Eck's staff was already planning to name a starter within 2 weeks of kickoff even before this news made it official.
Eck is entering year 2 in Albuquerque, and losing the guy who ran his offense for 13 games last season is exactly the kind of setback that can define whether a rebuild stalls or keeps climbing. The Lobos still have to answer the quarterback question fast — now it's just without the answer they thought they had.