City Series: Top 5 Defensive Backs In Albuquerque Metro Region

We begin the final phase of our ‘City Series’ by taking a look at the Top 5 defensive backs in the Albuquerque Metro Region: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145396" first="Colt" last="Mangino"], La Cueva</strong>: La Cueva doesn’t just have one of the most explosive offenses in the state, their defense is pretty stout too, which is why the Bears are a Class 6A title contender. The 6-foot-0, 170-pound Mangino led the La Cueva secondary with 3 interceptions and 42 tackles in  2021. Mangino stood out at the recent Eastern New Mexico camp in Albuquerque, often drawing praise from the Greyhounds’ DB coach for his speed, mobility and footwork.  FCS Valparaiso, ENMU and New Mexico Highlands have offered. Don’t be surprised if additional D1 offers come Mangino’s way. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269511" first="Chris" last="Montoya"], Rio Rancho</strong>: Montoya is probably one of the most underrated players in the Albuquerque Metro region. From a recruiting perspective, the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder is definitely flying under the radar. But he would be a good fit at nickel (hybrid DB/OLB) at the next level. Montoya had 58 tackles, 4 sacks and 4 pass breakups last season. He’s a ballhawk for the Rams. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270004" first="Devonte" last="Shendo"], Cleveland</strong>: Shendo sometimes gets overlooked because the Storm are extremely talented on both sides of the ball and the secondary doesn’t get a whole lotta love. But Shendo had a solid season in 2021 with 33 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269966" first="Jabulani" last="Cooper"], Albuqerque High</strong>: If we made a short list of the stars of camping season, Cooper would be on it. Following an exceptional performance at Eastern New Mexico’s camp in Albuquerque earlier this month, Cooper picked up three offers in less than 48 hours: ENMU, New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico. Cooper will be one of the leaders of a better-than-you-think AHS team in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138052" first="Mark" last="Pacheco"], Eldorado</strong>: Pacheco quietly had a sensational season at safety for Eldorado in 2021, totaling 84 tackles and 1 interception. Pacheco should again be one of the leaders of the Eagles defense in 2022 as they seek another playoff spot. <strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="274980" first="Jackson" last="Cherry"] (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id="274991" first="Jason" last="Ussery"] (Los Lunas); [player_tooltip player_id="274795" first="Dominic" last="Trujillo"] (Los Lunas); [player_tooltip player_id="274992" first="Tavon" last="Archibald"] (West Mesa); [player_tooltip player_id="275621" first="Diego" last="Molinar"] (Bernalillo);  [player_tooltip player_id="269603" first="Nicholas" last="Torres"] (Los Lunas); Ronnie Gilletti (Hope Christian); Zebadiah Thompson (West Mesa); Zedekiah Thompson (West Mesa). https://twitter.com/ManginoColt/status/1520185349833515009 https://twitter.com/Chris_MontoyaJr/status/1538706980365144065 https://twitter.com/Dee_1s/status/1471331333704077312 https://twitter.com/JabbyCooper/status/1534372496346079233 &nbsp;