Freshman Friday: Five More 2026 Prospects To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's Freshman Friday, which means it's time to tell you about five more 2026 prospects we believe will contribute to their varsity teams in the fall:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moses Sparks, Cleveland</strong>: Sparks exploded onto the radar of every high school football fan in New Mexico earlier today when he was offered by New Mexico, joining Storm LB [player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt'] as possible future Lobos. Sparks is just 15 years old but he's already listed at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds. Sparks will play – and potentially start – on Cleveland's offensive line for 3 years. Plenty of time to grow bigger, stronger and develop his technique. Guarantee: The Lobos offer won't be his last.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alex Rivera, Lovington</strong>: Rivera is emerging as one of the top young offensive line prospects in southern New Mexico. He's 6-foot-4, 250 pounds and plays on the offensive line and defensive line. He gained valuable experience with the Wildcats varsity in 2022 and should develop into an elite linemen over the next three years. He's enjoyed a fantastic offseason in the weight room and met the qualifying standard to compete at the state powerlifting championships but couldn't go because of roster limitations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaac Martinez, Deming</strong>: Somebody must replace graduating senior [player_tooltip player_id='541094' first='Fabian' last='Reyna'] at running back, and Martinez could be the guy. He's another young player having a fantastic offseason in the weight room. In just four months, his maximum lift has risen from 225 pounds to 335 pounds, per Deming football. Getting bigger and stronger. Positioning himself to become a major contributor to the Wildcats offense in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Jimenez, Silver</strong>: Who will replace the great [player_tooltip player_id='208819' first='Aidan' last='Granado'] at running back for Silver? Whoever wins the job has large shoes to fill as Granado rushed for over 2,500 yards in his final two seasons with the Fighting Colts. Jimenez got his feet wet with the Silver varsity in 2022, and enters the summer as one of the top candidates to become the Colts' No. 1 running back. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jacob Maldonado, La Cueva</strong>: If Maldonado's 7x7 campaign with New Mexico Heat is any indication, he's going to enjoy a fantastic sophomore season with La Cueva in 2023. Maldonado was one of the best players on the field in last Sunday's Jamboree at Bernalillo. Maldonado and the speedy <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402251' first='Tanner' last='Montano']</strong> could form a dynamic WR combination for the Bears in future seasons with 2025 QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] throwing lasers in their direction. Maldonado is also listed as a quarterback. In reality, he's an ATHLETE.              </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/mosessparks77/status/1651942560888422400","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/mosessparks77/status/1651942560888422400 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1638950314920513536?s=20","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/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1638950314920513536?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DemingWildcat/status/1649075208861655040","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/DemingWildcat/status/1649075208861655040 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1631774629881876480","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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1631774629881876480 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/nmheat_7v7/status/1650564128736436227","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/nmheat_7v7/status/1650564128736436227 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->