5 Underrated Defensive Players You Need To Know

Five weeks from the start of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season, several talented defensive prospects throughout the state are flying under the radar. Here are five: <strong>Landon Williams, DE Albuquerque High</strong>: Perhaps the ultimate under-the-radar prospect in the Duke City, Williams has quietly turned himself into a college prospect. He’s already been offered by New Mexico Highlands, and spent this past weekend on an official visit to Stephen F. Austin University in Texas. SFA has expressed interest. Williams is also a standout basketball player. <strong>Harrison Ostenberg, DE Santa Fe</strong>: Ostenberg is 6-foot-5 but is fast enough to run anchor on Santa Fe’s district-winning 4x100 relay team. His size and speed should give opposing offensive tackles fits all season long. Because Sanat Fe played only two games in the spring, Ostenberg hasn’t had much of an opportunity to put his talent s on tape. <strong>Peyton Harrison, LB Cibola</strong>: Harrison, a rising junior, has emerged as one of the top young linebackers in the Albuquerque Metro area. He started for Cibola in the spring as a sophomore, and will be one of the Cougars’ defensive captains this fall. Harrison and the Cibola defense are often overshadowed by the prolific offense led by QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"], but their hopes for a title run this fall will depend in large part on how well the D plays. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135117" first="Josh" last="Miller"], LB Hobbs</strong>: Miller had a team-high 52 tackles in four games this spring, an average of 13 tackles per game. That means Miller is making a lot of plays. Certainly one of the top LBs in southeast NM. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134998" first="Manny" last="Bustillos"], LB Clovis</strong>: Few linebackers posted better numbers than Bustillos in the spring. He collected 55 tackles (6th most in the state) and 8 tackles for loss. Only one junior had more tackles than Bustillos. Clovis could potentially have a very strong defense with  a solid D-Line and Bustillos patrolling the second level. https://twitter.com/iamlandoo/status/1409321677205368835 https://twitter.com/demons_football/status/1406009226493763588 https://twitter.com/_PeytonHarrison/status/1390125364664406022