Jan. 28—Another former Bobcat is headed for Albuquerque.
Montana State cornerback Jon Johnson has signed with New Mexico, the program announced this week.
The 6-foot-0, 185-pound senior made 22 total tackles and two interceptions in 14 games last season. A Gardena, California native, Johnson played at El Camino (Calif.) Community College before joining Montana State in 2023.
He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Johnson represents the second former Montana State transfer to sign with UNM in as many weeks. The Lobos landed a key commitment from running back Scottre Humphrey on Jan. 21, signing the 5-10, 210-pound sophomore over the likes of North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and West Virginia.
Both Johnson and Humphrey contributed to Montana State’s season-opening 35-31 win at UNM last season; the latter scored the game-winning touchdown with four seconds remaining.
UNM has now signed 31 transfers in head coach Jason Eck’s first offseason with the program.
Prep recruiting
In addition to Johnson, UNM also landed commitments from three prep recruits this week.
Thomas-James Pettus, a linebacker at Volcano Vista High School, committed to the Lobos on Monday, representing the first local pledge under Eck. The 6-3, 200-pound senior finished second on the team in tackles (76) with three sacks in 11 games last season.
Marko Luera, an offensive lineman at Glendora (Calif.) High School, committed to UNM on Tuesday over interest from Boise State, San Jose State and Hawaii. The 6-4, 240-pound tackle started every game of his high school career and is listed as a three-star prospect per 24/7 Sports.
UNM also landed a commitment from Darrion Bowers, a running back at Bowie (Texas) High School. The 5-8, 175-pound senior rushed for 2,100 yards and 267 touchdowns last season, leading the Volunteers to their first district title in over a decade.
Bowers chose UNM over offers from Texas State and Weber State.
Portal withdrawals
Offensive linemen Jawaun Singletary and Tevin Shaw are returning to UNM, a program spokesman confirmed to the Journal.
Singletary, a 6-2, 315-pound senior, was projected as the Lobos’ starting center before he suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. The Grambling State transfer announced his plans to leave the program in November before making the decision to return; he has one year of eligibility remaining.
Shaw, a 6-6, 320-pound redshirt sophomore, started three games at left tackle in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury of his own. The Houston transfer entered the portal in December; he has three years of eligibility remaining.
Singletary and Shaw join safety Tavian Combs, defensive end Max Lantzsch and offensive lineman Malik Aliane in the group of players to withdraw from the portal after Eck was hired.
