Story by
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Eck: QB Toa Fa'avae is 'our guy' moving forward
- Story byAlbuquerque Journal, N.M.
- Eck: QB Toa Fa'avae is 'our guy' moving forward
LAS CRUCES — No, there wasn't a plume of white smoke at University Stadium this week to announce the decision.
But after nearly two months of questions, it finally happened: New Mexico settled on a quarterback.
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UNM head coach Jason Eck said sophomore quarterback Toa Fa'avae is "our guy going forward" after the Lobos employed a multi-quarterback system in their first three games.
Saturday, Fa'avae completed 10 of 17 passes for 177 yards in a 42-18 win over rival New Mexico State. The 6-foot, 188-pound Concord, California native also rushed for 57 yards while taking the vast majority of UNM's 69 offensive snaps at quarterback.
Fa'avae previously split reps with junior Luke Moga, who logged a late snap against the Aggies.
"We thought we maybe were doing a disservice to the team, because I thought both quarterbacks needed to be better in the passing game," Eck said. "And Toa, I thought (he) added such an element running the football in (a 14-6 loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 19) and making stuff (happen) — that's what kinda tipped it in his favor.
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"But we just weren't getting the development that I wanted under our current system."
Eck said Fa'avae received all of the reps with the Lobos first-team offense this week, a decision made to help "speed up" his development. UNM also reduced its number of plays heading into Saturday's game from 80 to 60 in an effort to get better execution from Fa'avae and the offense at large.
The decision to make Fa'avae UNM's full-time quarterback was not made out of a desire to "settle" on one, Eck said, to simply end the multi-quarterback system.
"What we were doing wasn't working," he added. "I've seen (the multi-quarterback system) work, but the quarterbacks weren't getting better at the pace we needed them to get better for whatever reason. I'm kind of a big believer in that quote, 'insanity is doing the same thing (and) expecting different results.'
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"We had some things we had to do differently on offense to try and get better results. And it's not gonna happen overnight — you're not gonna win the Heisman Trophy in a week or two. But I thought (Fa'avae) continued to make good plays with his feet and improved throwing (Saturday)."
In August, Eck announced plans to employ a multi-quarterback system after Jack Layne, last year's starter, was ruled out for the year with a lingering elbow injury. With Layne sidelined, UNM held a three-way quarterback competition between Fa'avae, Moga and sixth-year senior James Laubstein in fall camp.
Fa'avae started the competition as a distant third before solidifying himself with a pair of strong scrimmage performances. The De La Salle (Calif.) High School graduate entered the year with one snap of offensive experience after serving as UNM's fourth-string quarterback in his freshman season.
"It just feels like I earned it," Fa'avae said Saturday. "Overall, (Fa'avae) just kept working and taking it day-by-day and snap-by-snap, and now I'm here. I gotta take control and keep getting wins."
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When asked what Moga could do to get back in the mix, Eck said "hopefully" he can get in-game reps if the Lobos play the "way we're capable of."
"But we're going to roll with Toa, and he's doing a great job," he added. "We'll keep sprinkling in James — I think James brings a nice knack there with his run game and things."
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
