Recruiting: Five 2023 prospects who deserve more offers

Photo: Prep Redzone

Scott Hood February 6, 2023 @ 11:01 PM

<p>It's been nearly a week since National Signing Day. Over 50 New Mexico prospects have already signed or are committed. But many other deserving prospects have not. There are some prospects who should hold more than offers than what they have. Here's Part 1 of our list:</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'], Cibola</strong>: Chavez was our #1 prospect in the 2023 class for two years before he relocated to Florida for a few months last spring. Eventually, he returned  and led Cibola to five straight wins before suffering a season-ending injury against Volcano Vista on Oct. 7. In six games, Chavez threw for over 2,000 yards and 17 TD. In the final 17 games of his career, Chavez passed  for 5,100 yards and 49 TD. He's 6-foot-5 with a cannon arm and a high football IQ. Chavez has been very quiet on social media about his recruitment. Why he's not being flooded with offers is puzzling.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'], Raton</strong>: Believe it or not, the state's all-time leading rusher with close to 8,000 career rushing yards holds just one offer from Eastern New Mexico. According to folks in Raton, few other schools have expressed interest. Walton is the consummate student-athlete. Not only is he one of the top running backs in the state, he'll likely be the valedictorian of his class. The only reason Walton is struggling to get offers is his size. He stands about 5-foot-9. If he was three or four inches taller, he would likely be a Division I prospect.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269560' first='David' last='Llanez'], Bernalillo</strong>: Despite Bernalillo's struggles last season (2-8 record), Llanez individually enjoyed a good season with 888 rushing yards and 1,420 all-purpose yards. He's fast (4.4-4.5 speed in the 40), competing on the Spartans track team in the spring, and strong. In the winter he competes as a powerlifter. Yet, Llanez has just one offer, and its a PWO at that. Like Walton, size may be a factor as Llanez stands 5-foot-9.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez'], La Cueva</strong>: Just as the state's leading rusher can't generate much respect on the recruiting trail, the same is true for the leading receiver. Sanchez led all New Mexico receivers in receptions (state record 99) and receiving yards (1,638; 4<sup>th</sup> highest all-time). He currently holds offers from Willamette University in Oregon and Bethel College in  Kansas. However, it doesn't appear from Sanchez's Twitter feed that any of the in-state schools (D1 or D2) have offered.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269511' first='Chris' last='Montoya'], Rio Rancho</strong>: Montoya has been one of the top defensive backs/outside linebackers in New Mexico for the past two years. In 2022, he totaled 154 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He had 20 tackles and 2 forced fumbles against Organ Mountain in Week 4, one of the top defensive performances by anybody this season. Yet, despite being one of the top players on one of the state's blueblood programs, Montoya lacks offers. Puzzling. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/caydenwalton4/status/1619538663007997952 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Llanez_Jr/status/1594371841233063936 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/IanSanchezNM/status/1602123327954243584 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Chris_MontoyaJr/status/1588602733036441601 </div></figure>

It's been nearly a week since National Signing Day. Over 50 New Mexico prospects have already signed or are committed. But many other deserving prospects have not. There are some prospects who should hold more than offers than what they have. Here's Part 1 of our list: