It looked like New Mexico State’s starting quarterback this season would be Trey Hedden. Now, it’s official.
Aggies coach Tony Sanchez officially named Hedden the starting quarterback in a media scrum after NM State’s first fall camp practice on Wednesday, July 29. Sanchez previously said Hedden had “the nod” as the starting quarterback going into fall camp during the Conference USA Kickoff Show on July 20, but now he’s gone one step further.
Barring anything unforeseen, Hedden will guide the Aggies’ offense in their season opener against Florida State on Aug. 29 on the road.
“Trey has the quarterback one job, so we anticipate him having it going into game one,” Sanchez said. “That decision’s already been made… Unless something crazy or egregious happens, which I don’t anticipate that happening, we’re good. We’ve got our starter going into Week 1.”
Hedden transferred from Furman over the offseason and battled 2025 backup quarterback Adam Damante for the starting job during spring football. Damante now heads back to the bench, and Hedden gets the chance to lead a team for the third consecutive season.
Hedden started eight games for Furman in 2024 and made the All-Southern Conference Freshman Team before starting all 12 games for the Paladins in 2025. He completed 68.3% of his passes and threw for 2,697 yards with 18 total touchdowns, 13 interceptions and three lost fumbles.
Hedden also spoke in a media scrum after Wednesday’s practice. He believes the roster NM State has will make his FCS-to-FBS adjustment easier, and promised he won’t have the same struggles other FCS quarterbacks have.
“The challenges that you think of, the speed of the game and the players that you’re playing against, are really helped by the team that you’re surrounded by,” Hedden said. “There’s no TK Kings playing FCS football. Bottom line, that’s that’s reality. Every challenge that you can think of is backed up by a benefit that I’m going to be surrounded by.
“I think a lot of FCS guys struggle with arm talent or size, and I don’t struggle with either one of those things. I think some of the natural things that people struggle with are not going to be my issues.”
Hedden is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback with 20 games of Division I starting experience under his belt. Per Pro Football Focus, he ranked fourth in the SoCon last season with 14 big-time throws, and his 76.1 PFF passing grade ranked fifth among the 11 SoCon quarterbacks who played at least 20% of their team’s snaps.
However, PFF also ranked Hedden second in turnover-worthy plays with 14, and he had only two less turnovers than total touchdowns. Hedden admitted during the scrum that he’s struggled with taking care of the ball in the past, but says guidance from NM State offensive coordinator David Yost will fix the issue.
“I’ve struggled turning the football over. It has happened at Furman. It’s something that I’ve dealt with,” Hedden said. “What I will say though is that I’ve spent a lot of time… There’s a lot of time and work and effort that’s been put in to positively affect that this offseason.
“Working with Coach Yost, he’s coaching me like I’ve never been coached before. He’s on me. I spend a ton of time with him every day. I’m going to do everything I can to eliminate those things and help our offense continue to be successful throughout.”
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Trey Hedden named New Mexico State’s Week 1 starting quarterback
