New Mexico State Is First To Offer Tatum’s Chaston Brooks

Better late than never.

Tatum athlete Chaston Brooks became the 32nd senior football player in East Texas to receive a scholarship from a program in the Football Bowl Subdivision. New Mexico State did the honor.

Brooks is the second player from the region New Mexico State has targeted. It offered Lufkin's Erik McCoy in September, but the offensive lineman decided to hold out for more opportunities and ultimately committed to Texas A&M.

New Mexico State is 2-9 with one more game remaining on its schedule, but it has been mostly competitive within Sun Belt Conference play. Three of its losses came by eight points or less and a fourth came on the road against LSU.

The team is coached by Doug Martin. He’s in the second year of a fairly significant rebuilding project in Las Cruces, N.M., after spending the 2012 season as Boston College’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

This is Martin’s second stint at the school. He was New Mexico State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011 and helped guide the team to a 4-9 season with signature wins against Minnesota, Fresno State and New Mexico.

Martin was the head coach at Kent State from 2004 through 2010.

Brooks has had a nice year for Tatum, and the Eagles have peaked as a team in the playoffs.

The athlete has completed 53 of 96 passes for 877 yards and 14 touchdowns to five interceptions in time split under center with J.D. Taylor. Brooks also has carried the ball 52 times for 228 yards and four scores.

As a defensive back, Brooks has one interception, four pass breakups and 77 tackles through 12 games this season.

The athlete is the second Tatum player on the Class of 2015 board. Linebacker Kyshaun Smith holds offers from Houston, Memphis, North Texas and Texas State.

Tatum (7-5) will face Atlanta (11-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday inside Pirate Stadium in Longview.

Brooks has until Feb. 5 before he can sign with New Mexico State or any future program that may offer.

2015 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Jarion Anderson, WR, Texas High, 5-11, 165 – committed to Tulsa (1)
• Rodney Bendy, WR, John Tyler, 6-4, 180 – committed to North Texas; additional offer from ULM (2)
• William Brown, DL, Texas High, 6-3, 259 – offers from Arkansas State, Texas State (2)
• Kris Boyd, ATH, Gilmer, 6-0, 180 — offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Florida State, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (14)
• Chaston Brooks, ATH, Tatum, 6-0, 183 -- offer from New Mexico State (1)
• Nate Brooks, DB, Whitehouse, 6-0, 150 — committed to North Texas; additional offer from Louisiana Tech (2)
• Nick Cain, ATH, John Tyler, 5-10, 165 — offer from ULM (1)
• Key’Vantanie “KeKe” Coutee, ATH, Lufkin, 5-10, 160 — offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Tulsa (5)
• Justin Dunning, S, Whitehouse, 6-4, 200 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt (11)
• Brandon Durman, LB, Tyler Lee, 6-2, 230 – committed to Louisiana Tech (1)
• Chandler Eiland, QB, Canton, 6-0, 178 – committed to ULM (1)
• Roney Elam, CB/S, Newton, 6-3, 175 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, LSU, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech (10)
• Jeff Gladney, ATH, New Boston, 6-0, 174 – committed to TCU; additional offers from North Texas, Northern Illinois, Rice, Texas State, Tulsa, UTSA (7)
• JaMycal Hasty, RB, Longview, 5-9, 181 — committed to Baylor; additional offers from Houston, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (9)
• Tyrone Hunt, DE, Arp, 6-4, 230 – committed to UTSA (1)
• Marcalas Johnson, Arp, 5-10, 181 – offer from Colorado State (1)
• Kevrin Justice, RB, Kilgore, 6-0, 177 — committed to Houston (1)
• Jaylon Lane, CB, Nacogdoches, 6-2, 185 — offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Boise State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Houston, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, South Alabama, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, UCLA, ULL, Utah State, Wake Forest, Washington State (38)
• Blake Lynch, ATH, Gilmer, 6-3, 193 — committed to Baylor; additional offers from Clemson, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, TCU (6)
• Daylon Mack, DT, Gladewater, 6-1, 330 – committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, USC (21)
• Terry Mark, WR, Lufkin, 6-1, 180 — committed to Houston (1)
• Erik McCoy, OL, Lufkin, 6-4, 297 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Arkansas State, Houston, Kansas, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oklahoma State, ULL (8)
• Samuel Miller, DE, Canton, 6-3, 220 – committed to North Texas; additional offers from Arkansas State, Houston, Kansas State, Memphis, Nevada, Oregon State, Texas State, ULM, UTEP, UTSA (11)
• Chett Munden, OL, Marshall, 6-6, 303 — committed to North Texas; additional offer from ULM (2)
• Larry Pryor, S, Sulphur Springs, 6-1, 185 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Arkansas, Baylor, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech (10)
• Kyshaun Smith, S/LB, Tatum, 6-2, 178 — offers from Houston, Memphis, North Texas, Texas State (4)
• Chris Spikes, WR, Jasper, 6-3, 175 — offer from Houston (1)
• Javon Thomas, RB, Texas High, 6-3, 211 – committed to Tulsa; additional offers from Navy, New Mexico, Rice, Toledo, ULM (6)
• Jackson Tyner, QB, Edgewood, 6-5, 220 – committed to Rice (1)
• Isaac Warren, DB, John Tyler, 6-1, 189 — committed to Purdue; additional offers from Arizona State, UTEP (3)
• Broderick Washington, OL/DL, Longview, 6-3, 285 — committed to Texas Tech; additional offers from Arkansas State, Houston, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico, North Texas, ULL, UTSA (8)
• Matthew Weeks, OT, Tyler Lee, 6-6, 274 — offer from SMU (1)