New 2025 Rankings: Top 10 Prospects in Albuquerque Metro Region

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have released the FIRST 2025 rankings and one thing is abundantly clear – there is an abundance of young high school football talent in New Mexico. Most of the prospects in our initial ranking have already made a significant impact on their respective teams, and they still have two more years to cement their legacy. Here are the Top 10 2025 prospects in the Albuquerque Metro Region:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'], La Cueva</strong>: Know this about Posa. New Mexico offered him last summer BEFORE his sophomore season with La Cueva. If you have any questions about Posa's athleticism, go watch the film from the Oct. 28 district championship game against Farmington when Posa returned a punt for a touchdown, boomed a 69-yard punt, forced a fumble, intercepted a pass and sacked the quarterback. In his first 12 games last season, Posa had 77 tackles, an impressive 24 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, and 5 interceptions. Frankly, selecting the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class was easy. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva</strong>: The heir apparent to the state's No. 1 quarterback in 2022 ([player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta']). Just like Posa, Dyer possesses elite athleticism. La Cueva smartly utilized his versatile skills last season, utilizing him as a running back (278 rushing yards), receiver (34 receptions) and kick returner along with serving as Armenta's backup. He returned a kickoff for a TD in the 6A state championship game. Dyer is 6-foot-4, 190 pounds with a rifle arm and maximum mobility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611116' first='Latavious' last='Morris'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: Morris has had ‘star' written all over him since his freshman campaign in 2021 when he caught 28 passes. He came close to doubling that number in 2022 and goes into the 2023 campaign as the No. 1 2025 WR in Albuquerque. Jaguars return QB [player_tooltip player_id='275207' first='Dean' last='Marquez'], WR /RB [player_tooltip player_id='274705' first='Marquise' last='Renfro'] and Morris, so they should be prolific on offense again.     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611047' first='Psalmon' last='Kegler'], Cleveland</strong>: The Storm's offensive talent was so explosive in 2022 that the defense sometimes got lost in the shuffle. As a result, Kegler is a name some folks are unfamiliar with. But there's no denying his talent. Playing on the defensive line, Kegler had 37 tackles, 9 TFL, 6.5 sacks and 2 INT in 2022.If anybody challenges Posa for the title of Top Defensive Player in the Albuquerque metro region over the next two years, Kegler will likely to be the guy. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611069' first='Nick' last='Mertz'], La Cueva</strong>: Yes, La Cueva is loaded in the 2025 class. Mertz led the Bears in tackles in 2022, his first year of varsity football. Between Posa and Mertz, La Cueva has a lethal 1-2 combination at linebacker that nobody in the state can match for the next two years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano'], Rio Rancho</strong>: One of the top breakout players of the year in the Albuquerque metro region. Arellano took over as Rams QB when [player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson'] was injured and proceeded to bedazzle opposing defenses with his elite dual threat skills. In 9 games, Arellano threw for nearly 1,100 yards and 15 TD, and rushed for over 600 yards with 10 TD. He amassed 1,698 total yards and accounted for 25 TD. Nelson is a rising senior, so it will be intriguing to see how the Rio Rancho coaches handle the QB position in 2023. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615660' first='John' last='Paul Ludi'], Eldorado</strong>: Eldorado uncharacteristically suffered through a disappointing 2022 season as the Eagles finished with a 2-8 record. Ludi, however, was a bright spot on offense with 424 rushing yards. He also had 23 tackles on defense. Eldorado has always had a solid running game, so look for Ludi to get plenty of opportunities in 2023. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='416094' first='Ryan' last='Ramirez'], Albuquerque Academy</strong>: The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Ramirez emerged this past season as one of the top young offensive lineman in the state, earning Second-team All-District honors. His excellent size and mobility should make him a coveted college prospect by his senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615365' first='Jalin' last='Holland'], Los Lunas</strong>: A two-sport standout (New Mexico and New Mexico State have already offered him in basketball), the 6-foot-4 Holland missed the entire 2022 season with a broken arm suffered in preseason practice. When healthy (hopefully, he will be for the 2023 season), Holland has the physical talent, imposing size and skill level to be one of the top receivers in the state. He had 14 receptions as a freshman in 2021 to help Los Lunas win the Class 5A title. He should easily triple that number in 2023. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], Highland</strong>: After years of decline, Highland is steadily returning to prominence in football. Mumba is one of many talented young players on the improving Hornets (5-4 record in 2022). The 5-foot-10, 180-po+und Mumba fueled Highland's rushing attack last season. He rushed for 3 TD in a September victory over Hope Christian.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1598704749368393729","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1598704749368393729 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1535457434591969280","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1535457434591969280 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/camdyer7/status/1603400340421967875","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/camdyer7/status/1603400340421967875 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/K3gler53/status/1607565097706328064","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/K3gler53/status/1607565097706328064 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/j1arellano/status/1585102118176051201","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/j1arellano/status/1585102118176051201 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->