UNM football: Quarterback Isaiah Chavez no longer with program, won't play this fall

ALBUQUERQUE — One of New Mexico’s longest-tenured players won’t be with the program this season.

Redshirt senior quarterback Isaiah Chavez is no longer with UNM, he confirmed with the Journal April 8.

The Rio Rancho native was not among the Lobos’ top two quarterbacks entering his sixth season with the program, head coach Jason Eck said last week, and was approached over the last week about possibly moving to linebacker. Despite wanting to stay, he left midway through spring practice and is not currently in the transfer portal.

Chavez made it clear he doesn’t harbor any animosity towards anybody at UNM, but was “hurt” leaving the program and by a decision he didn’t feel was his.

“Being away from my brothers and not being able to represent the state of New Mexico on my chest, it’s something that still hasn’t come to terms with me yet,” Chavez said. “It’s something that I’m still not OK with, but it’s something that I have to deal with becoming an adult. And unfortunately, it came at a period where I wasn’t done yet, and I still feel like I’m not done yet.”

With an undergraduate degree in communications completed, Chavez is stepping away from courses at UNM to prepare for the birth of his fiancée’s child in September. The tentative plan, he said, is to wait until December after “everything settles down here” and consider entering the portal then.

The 2019 Gatorade (N.M.) Player of the Year at Rio Rancho High School, Chavez became a fan favorite after leading the Lobos to back-to-back wins over Wyoming and Fresno State as a freshman walk-on in 2020. He passed for 112 yards and one touchdown in a 14-3 win over the Cowboys in 2021, but never reliably recaptured the magic of the pandemic season; he did not see the field in 2022 or 2023, missing time in both seasons with various injuries.

Chavez spent last season as the Lobos’ backup quarterback and stayed with the program after former head coach Bronco Mendenhall left for Utah State. He spent much of this spring competing among the quarterback depth with Emery Floyd and Gabriel Motschenbacher before deciding to leave, ending one of the most unique career arcs in the program’s recent memory.

When asked about his departure, Eck said Chavez is a “great kid” and confirmed the staff had approached him about moving to another position.

“My philosophy has been with those guys with (COVID-19) years and things, it really only makes sense to use them if you’re gonna play a lot,” Eck said. “It looked like he was not gonna play a lot at quarterback. (It’s a) big thing to try and switch positions in the sixth year.

“I got a lotta belief in that kid, so I would’ve been open to it if he was into it, but I think he just decided, ‘I got my degree, I’m ready to move on with my life and take care of my family.’”

With his departure, Chavez joins Floyd and offensive lineman Vincent Santos as the three players to leave UNM this spring. Floyd, a College of the Canyons transfer who appeared in one game last season, left after he was moved from quarterback to wide receiver last week.

“He kind of decided his heart is at quarterback,” Eck said, “and we’re gonna try to help him find a place where he can play quarterback. But same thing (as Chavez) — this wasn’t gonna work out where he was gonna get a lot of snaps, probably, the way it was looking. So, wish him the best and (we’ll) try to help him find a good place.”

With Chavez and Floyd out of the quarterback room, UNM is currently playing James Laubstein, Jack Layne and Motschenbacher with five practices to go. Laubstein has repped as the Lobos’ de facto first-string quarterback after Layne was sidelined with a sore elbow during the first week of spring practice; the Idaho transfer is still not fully practicing and it’s unclear if he will return at any point this spring.

While UNM will add three-star quarterback commit Toa Faavae ahead of fall camp, Eck said UNM will look to add another quarterback — possibly two — in the spring portal window.

“Five (quarterbacks), I think, is ideal,” he said. “But you’d rather have six than four.”