City Series: Top 5 Linebackers in Albuquerque Metro Region

We continue with our ‘City Series’ by taking a look at the Top 5 linebackers in  the Albuquerque Metro Region (includes Rio Rancho, Los Lunas &amp; Belen): <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274701" first="Stratton" last="Shufelt"], Cleveland</strong>: There’s zero dispute as to the top linebacker in Albuquerque Metro Region. Some folks (MaxPreps) have pegged Shufelt as the state’s #1 overall prospect even though he still has two more years of high school football ahead of him. Shufelt led the Storm with 56 tackles, 10 TFL, 8 sacks and 3 QB hurries. His list of offers includes New Mexico, New Mexico State, UTEP and UConn. Shufelt is listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds with plenty of room for growth., He’s big, strong and fast. Right now, the only thing missing from his resume is a Power 5 offer. That should come in time. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208791" first="Jahvon" last="McChriston"], Bernalillo</strong>: McChriston is one of the best all-around  athletes in the Albuquerque Metro Region. Not only is he slated to start at QB for Bernalillo but outside linebacker as well. He had 37 tackles, 12 TFL (Note: 1/3 of his tackles produced lost yardage) and 8 sacks in 2021. He has length (6-1), speed and mobility. New Mexico Highlands has already offered while Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico have expressed interest. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208831" first="Miguel" last="Andrade"], Los Lunas</strong>: Andrade isn’t the biggest linebacker you’ll find, but he’s a tackling machine for the Tigers. Last season he amassed 102 tackles, 8.5 TFL and 1 INT. Strong, strong numbers. Yeah, Andrade has a nose for the football and just makes plays. Like everybody else on the Los Lunas roster, we’re intrigued to see how Andrade and the Tigers fare in Class 6A this season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274709" first="Alijah" last="Gonzales"], Volcano Vista</strong>: If Shufelt is clearly the top 2024 linebacker in Albuquerque, Gonzales isn’t far behind. He enjoyed a fantastic season as a sophomore in 2021 with 81 tackles, 13 TFL, 4 sacks and 5 passes defended. With [player_tooltip player_id="135101" first="Tyler" last="Martinez"] moving on to the next level, Gonzales should own the linebacker spot for the Hawks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="335462" first="Peyton" last="Harrison"], Cibola</strong>: The biggest news out of Cibola this week was, of course, centered around QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] moving to Florida for his senior season with the hope of boosting his recruiting prospects. But the Cougars have plenty of talent, and Harrison is somebody the new staff will be counting on. Look for Harrison to double the number of tackles he had as a junior (28) in 2022. <strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="275601" first="Shawn" last="Armijo"] (Bernalillo); [player_tooltip player_id="269578" first="Eloy" last="Virgil"] (Bernalillo); [player_tooltip player_id="269622" first="Nathan" last="Wallin"] (Volcano Vista); [player_tooltip player_id="269609" first="Caden" last="Lowry"] (Cibola); [player_tooltip player_id="275565" first="Isaac" last="Medrano"] (Cleveland); Christian Powell (Valley); [player_tooltip player_id="275082" first="Dominic" last="Valencia"] (Rio Rancho); [player_tooltip player_id="340266" first="Matthew" last="Pascuzzi"] (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id="238625" first="Dalton" last="Lee"] (Albuquerque Academy); [player_tooltip player_id="275045" first="Brody" last="Whitaker"] (Albuquerque Academy). https://twitter.com/CHSStormFB/status/1516054021441609731 https://twitter.com/jahvonmac/status/1529677415508754432