City Series: Top 5 Defensive Backs in Southern NM

We continue with the final phase of our ‘City Series’ by taking a look at the Top 5 defensive backs in southern New Mexico: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137933" first="Siddeeq" last="Shabazz"], Las Cruces</strong>: Shabazz is arguably the top DB in southern NM and one of the leaders of the Las Cruces defense. He was First-team All-District in 2021 and the Defensive Newcomer of the Year. He’s a very physical player and not afraid to roam around and inflict pain on his opponents. P[rimed for a huge senior year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208835" first="Hector" last="Armendariz"], Hobbs</strong>: Armendariz collected 95 tackles – 67 solo – for the Eagles in 2021, including 8.0 tackles for loss, evidence he’s fearless in coming up and helping out in the run game. He also had 2 interception and 13 passes defended. Classic example of a cornerback who takes away half the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="335476" first="Cole" last="Runyan"], Centennial</strong>: Runyan is a college coaches’ dream. He’s tall (6-4), strong (190 pounds) and a playmaker. He earned First-Team All-District and Second-Team All-State honors. The Centennial defense is loaded for 2022 with Runyan being a central figure for the Hawks. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138201" first="Layton" last="Gillis"], Hatch Valley</strong>: Gillis is one of the top two-way players in Class 3A. He’s also one of the strongest. Look for Hatch Valley to be an improved football team in 2022 and Gillis, who’s been invited to the Hawaii Tiki Bowl, will be one of the stars. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="335468" first="Adrian" last="Anaya"],</strong> <strong>Roswell</strong>: After helping Roswell bounce back from a 0-4 start and earn a Top 4 seed for the Class 5A playoffs, Anaya has been a workout warrior this offseason, joining the 1,000-pound club ad setting records for the Coyotes. Roswell usually has a solid defense and 2022 should be no different with Anaya patrolling the 3^rd level. <strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="269513" first="Rene" last="Ramos"] (Carlsbad); [player_tooltip player_id="270041" first="Luis" last="Pando"] (Artesia); [player_tooltip player_id="274789" first="Connor" last="Holland"] (Ruidoso); [player_tooltip player_id="275595" first="DeMarcus" last="Thompson"] (Lovington); [player_tooltip player_id="275030" first="Walter" last="Woodward"] (Silver); [player_tooltip player_id="275376" first="Jett" last="Stone"] (Clovis); [player_tooltip player_id="340299" first="David" last="Beasley"] (Centennial); Tommy Lopez (Portales). https://twitter.com/HobbsEaglesFB/status/1463659294763753479 https://twitter.com/cole_runyan13/status/1462643065345216514 https://twitter.com/CoyotesRising/status/1535260584014278656 https://twitter.com/laytong42/status/1529913411248586752