Position Breakdown: Top 2024 Linebackers for the 2023 season

<p>We continue our Position Breakdown series with a look at the Top 10 rising senior (2024) linebackers in New Mexico going into the 2023 season (listed in alphabetical order):</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275452' first='Markus' last='Attencio'], Aztec</strong>: Attencio is one of the top linebackers in the Four Corners region. In just 7 games last season, he had 43 tackles and 2 TFL. He put up impressive numbers if he stays healthy and plays a full 10-game regular season slate + playoffs.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275049' first='Joshua' last='Carrasco'], Lovington</strong>: Carrasco has already put together two impressive seasons heading into his final campaign with the Wildcats. He had 87 tackles as a sophomore in 2021 and 70 tackles last fall as a junior when he earned 4A First-Team All-State honors. He has 160 career tackles in three seasons (he played on varsity as a freshman), so the magical figure of 250 career tackles is within reach. Carrasco is also a very strong guy as he has qualified for the state powerlifting championships.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590528' first='Isaac' last='Foutz'], Farmington</strong>: Is Foutz the most underrated LB in the state? Probably. He finished the 2022 season with 129 tackles, one of the highest figures in the state. Yet he wasn't named to the NMHSCA 6A All-State team. Farmington has key contributors returning in 2023, including Foutz and QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'], so the Scorpions should be competitive again in their second season in Class 6A.      </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista</strong>: Gonzales has excelled on both sides of the ball during his career at Volcano Vista. As a sophomore in 2021, he was a monster on defense with 81 tackles and 13.0 TFL. He focused more on offense in 2022, rushing for 690 yards and 12 TD on 118 carries along with 36 receptions for 356 yards and 1 TD. Gonzales is also a standout baseball player.</p>   <p><strong>Zaeden McPherson, Hobbs</strong>: McPherson looks to be the perfect candidate to replace ENMU signee [player_tooltip player_id='138050' first='Kenyon' last='Singleton'] at middle linebacker for Hobbs after registering 113 tackles and 4 QB hurries at outside linebacker in 2022.     </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275565' first='Isaac' last='Medrano'], Cleveland</strong>: Medrano probably gets overshadowed somewhat by teammate [player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt'] but he's an excellent player in his own right. Medrano had 67 tackles, 10.0 TFL and 5.5 sacks in 2022 to help the Storm capture its third straight Class 6A state championship. Cleveland will arguably have one the top linebacker corps in the state in 2023.     </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt'], Cleveland</strong>: Shufelt is going into his third season as the gold standard in the state at the LB position. He holds numerous offers, including Colorado, New Mexico, New Mexico State, UTEP, Arkansas State and more. Oregon State has expressed interest. He has great size (listed at 6-2, 220 pounds) and strength, good speed and elite athleticism. Even though he's a defensive player, Shufelt is a strong candidate for the 2023 New Mexico Heisman.    </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274702' first='John' last='Sierra'], Centennial</strong>: Sierra could be a future teammate of Shufelt as he was offered by UNM a few days ago. Sierra also has good length and size (6-2, 210 pounds), strength (member of Centennial's 1,000 pound club), speed, explosiveness and high football IQ. In short, everything major college football coaches crave. He had 90 tackles and 22 TFL in 2022. Playmaker.   </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590673' first='Diego' last='Wesson'], Artesia</strong>: The Bulldogs didn't roll to the 2022 Class 5A state championship simply because they had a prolific offense. The Bulldogs had a great defense too and Wesson was one of the statistical leaders. He led Artesia with 107 tackles, adding 7.0 TFL and 2 INT. The Bulldogs return several major contributors on both sides of the ball and enter 2023 as the favorites to capture another 5A title.    </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275045' first='Brody' last='Whitaker'], Albuquerque Academy</strong>: Whitaker did something in 20222 that is difficult to do – he seamlessly switched positions defensively and still excelled. As a sophomore in 2021, Whitaker was a defensive lineman and offensive lineman. He moved to linebacker for his junior year and was sensational, finishing with 105 tackles, 21 TFL and 13 sacks. Impressive. New Mexico Highlands and Ottawa University Arizona have offered. Eastern New Mexico and University of Jamestown (N.D.) have expressed interest. Also an elite wrestler. Incredibly strong.      </p>   <p><strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='275509' first='Amare' last='Gonzales'] (Moriarty); [player_tooltip player_id='275425' first='Josh' last='Mondragon'] (Clovis); [player_tooltip player_id='275569' first='Jesse' last='Seitzinger'] (Bloomfield); [player_tooltip player_id='275598' first='Jerome' last='Martinez'] (Taos); [player_tooltip player_id='340290' first='Ricardo' last='Andrade'] (Las Cruces); [player_tooltip player_id='340266' first='Matthew' last='Pascuzzi'] (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id='275602' first='Santiago' last='Quintana'] (Los Alamos); [player_tooltip player_id='340334' first='Seth' last='Dunlap'] (Estancia); [player_tooltip player_id='340352' first='Anson' last='Marquez'] (Lovington): [player_tooltip player_id='238625' first='Dalton' last='Lee'] (Albuq. Academy); [player_tooltip player_id='590676' first='Eli' last='Darnell'] (Manzano); [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'] (Santa Rosa).  </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/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1603229651660259329 </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/Isaac_Medrano24/status/1608251732810948608 </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/strat_shufelt/status/1597403121361518593?s=20 </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/Diegowesson54/status/1630408440030920704 </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/BrodyWhitaker2/status/1624788743780724742 </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/johnsierra2024/status/1636553342536257536 </div></figure>

We continue our Position Breakdown series with a look at the Top 10 rising senior (2024) linebackers in New Mexico going into the 2023 season (listed in alphabetical order):