Updated 2023 Rankings: 10 Newcomers, Part 1

We released the updated 2023 rankings on Monday. Here are 10 of the top newcomers to the list: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269511" first="Chris" last="Montoya"], Rio Rancho</strong>: Montoya will be one of the state’s best defense backs in 2022. If you think the Rams won’t be one of the state’s top teams again in 2022, think again. And with former Cleveland head coach Heath Ridenour now at New Mexico, it’s game on. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269513" first="Rene" last="Ramos"], Carlsbad</strong>: In some circles, Ramos is one of the top 50 high school football players in New Mexico. His body of work this past season was impressive and he should be a leader for the Carlsbad defense in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269517" first="Khalif" last="Arenas"], Centennial</strong>: Arenas should be one of the top offensive line prospects in New Mexico in 2022. He’s got the size (6-1, 290) college coaches are looking for. Arenas will be paving the way for outstanding RB [player_tooltip player_id="208691" first="Mikah" last="Gutierrez"]. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269523" first="Anthony" last="McCullough"], Valencia</strong>: One of the major reasons Valencia was able to become one of the surprise teams in Class 4A last season was their talent in the trenches. McCullough had an outstanding season at defensive tackle for the Jaguars and he should be one of the state’s best at the position in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269525" first="Gabriel" last="Buie"], La Cueva</strong>: Two players emerged in a big way for La Cueva this past season – WR [player_tooltip player_id="208744" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"] and Buie. In his first year on the varsity, Buie rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 13 TD, averaging close to 8 yards per carry. QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"], Buie and Ayers will be one of the state’s top offensive trios in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269582" first="Cooper" last="Pritchett"], Ruidoso</strong>: Pritchett did it all for the Warriors in 2021. He quarterbacked his team to the Class 4A state championship game by throwing for 700 yards and catching 18 passes. He also made 116 tackles on defense. There won’t be many better two-way players in the state in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269529" first="Branden" last="Castillo"], Cibola</strong>: Castillo was a solid #2 WR for Cibola in 2022 behind the departed [player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"] with 57 receptions for 868 yards. Castillo will get his opportunity to becime the #1 WR in 2022. Best news? He’ll have Div. 1 caliber QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] throwing him the ball. Look for Castillo to have a monster season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269533" first="Amari" last="Benavidez"], Loving</strong>: Benavidez was a bright light in an otherwise ungratifying season for Loving. He caught 34 passes for 486 yards and 4 TD. He also had 32 tackles and 6 sacks on defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269564" first="Ashton" last="Aranda"], Lovington</strong>: The ‘Fantastic Four’ at WR grabbed most of the attention for the Class 4A champion Wildcats, but somebody had to throw them the ball. Aranda amassed 2,180 passing yards and 29 TD in 2021. He’ll have a new crew to throw the ball to in 2022. But don’t expect Aranda or Lovington to take a step back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269560" first="David" last="Llanez"], Bernalillo</strong>: Nicknamed ‘Rocket,’ Llanez emerged in 2021 as a major contributor on both sides of the ball for Bernalillo. He rushed for 575 yards on 96 carries and made 25 tackles and 4 sacks on defense. https://twitter.com/Chris_MontoyaJr/status/1462819269780070404 https://twitter.com/gabrielbuie07/status/1456410592755945489 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1470595687297417216 &nbsp;