Growing Up Fast: Top 2025 Prospects, Part 3

We’ve already published Parts I and II of the top 2025 prospects in the state of New Mexico. Here are seven more to watch this upcoming season: <strong>Dennis Barnes, Aztec</strong>: Got his feet wet on defense for the Tigers and registered a pair of tackles for loss. Aztec will rely on him more in 2022. <strong>Juan Munoz, Capital</strong>: The Jaguars’ move to Class 6A will be a key storyline in the fall. They’ll have a deep RB corps that includes Munoz. <strong>Christian Powell, Valley</strong>: Powell was a major contributor to Valley’s defense as a freshman in 2021, finishing with 31 tackles and 7 TFL. Now he looks to build on an impressive freshman campaign. The Vikings will have some nice talent in 2022. <strong>Damian Avila, Belen</strong>: His freshman campaign at Belen was a rousing success. He emerged as one of the top young running backs in Class 5A by rushing for 584 yards on just 54 carries, averaging over 10 yards per carry. He should be Belen’s #1 RB in 2022. <strong>Eli Snell-Martinez, Bloomfield</strong>: While [player_tooltip player_id="198283" first="Diego" last="Snell-Martinez"] was lighting up the stat sheet on both sides of the ball, Eli collected 27 tackles as a freshman. He’ll be somebody to watch in the fall. <strong>Kenyen Callado, Santa Fe Indian</strong>: Callado made his mark on the defensive side of the ball with 12 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery for SFI. Offensively, he served as SFI’s backup QB. He could develop into a solid two-way player. <strong>Tayon Rajah, Dexter</strong>: Rajah had 9 tackles, including 2 TFL and 1 sack, for the Demons. His nose for the football should lead him to a nice career at Dexter. &nbsp;