Sneak Peek: Will Grants reap their rewards in 2023?

Unflinching in the face of consecutive 1-9 seasons to begin his tenure as Grants head coach, Brandon Hernandez believes the Pirates are finally ready to plunder and reap some rewards.   Hernandez hopes that translates to more wins for Grants in 2023.   His first two teams were dominated by freshmen and sophomores, but those players have now grown up, taken their lumps and gained valuable varsity experience.   “Last year, I said Year 2 was night and day compared to Year 1,” Hernandez told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “Same thing this year. The communication is on a different level, between players and players, coaches and players and coaches and coaches.   “We have guys who played as freshmen and got a lot of reps and are now sitting in meetings as rising juniors. We even have some seniors now.”   Many Pirate players who were freshmen in 2021 have close to 20 games of varsity experience under their belts.   “We're leaning on those guys,” Hernandez said. “We've even included the players in putting together our scheme to get their ideas and feedback. Their football knowledge has grown. We're excited about that.”   One of Hernandez's key decisions before the Aug. 18 season opener against Capital is deciding on a starting quarterback to run Grants' zone read/RPO offense Three different players took snaps in 2023, but Hernandez is hopeful somebody will separate from the pack over the next four months.   He'll likely decide between rising senior (2024) [player_tooltip player_id='590236' first='Julian' last='Padilla'], rising sophomore (2026) Tristin Fernandez and rising sophomore DJ Chavez.   “Our biggest question mark this offseason is who will play quarterback,” Hernandez said. “The good thing is all three guys are back. Last season was trial by error. We started a freshman in Week 1 and it was tough for him. I would love for somebody to come out and just take the job, command it and lead the team.   “We definitely want to get some stability there. We have three guys who are capable, but we want to find the one that will take our offense to the next level.”   Hernandez said if the season started this week Fernandez would probably be the choice as starting QB. He showed promise last season as both a thrower and runner.   “Tristin did very well for us last year,” Hernandez said. “We liked a lot of the stuff we saw out of him. He has a nice upside as far as his overall ability. If we had to play a game tomorrow, Tristin would be our starting quarterback. He's a fantastic athlete. And he's so good for us defensively. But we're hoping he takes the next step at quarterback.”   If Padilla doesn't win the QB job, Hernandez said he is too ‘long, fast and strong' to leave on the bench, so the Pirate coaches will find a spot for him.   “He's such a good athlete we may have to put him at receiver or put him at running back,” Hernandez said. “He's a pretty good DB too with his length and athleticism. He's a guy we can plug and play.”     Rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='613060' first='Andres' last='Lazos'] is back after leading the Pirates in rushing in 2022. What he lacks in size (5-3, 130) he makes up for in toughness and heart.   “I think Andres is going to have the best year of his career,” Hernandez said. “He's going to burst onto the scene. He's our best all-around player. Andres is a football guy. He's small in size but he competes.   “We play him at running back and safety. We're going to feature him at running back. We'll have a couple other guys get a carry here and there to give him a breather and keep him fresh.”   Rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='340259' first='Manuel' last='Gonzales'] returns at wide receiver after leading Grants in receptions by a wide margin in 2022.   “Opponents are going to have issues trying to defend Manuel,” Hernandez said. “His past production has been hurt by our issues at quarterback. But Manuel is special. We have to find ways to get the ball in his hands. He's going to stretch the field horizontally and vertically. He's been a captain for two years.”   [player_tooltip player_id='590241' first='Knight' last='Long'] (strong contender for the All-Name team) is a receiver who could emerge in 2023. As he showed this past weekend, Long possesses serious speed. Rising sophomore Isaiah Ortega (6-0) has good size and versatility.   “Manuel and Knight will be our two guys in the slot,” Hernandez said. “We're going to move them around to get them into space and more one on one matchups. We want to put them in position to make plays.”   Along the offensive line, rising senior Ty Mahkee returns at tackle. Watch out for rising sophomore (2026) Gary Chavez, who has posted impressive numbers in the weight room this spring as a freshman. Remarkably, he's already a member of Grants' 1,000-pound club.   Chavez, who saw action last season at defensive line, will likely see action this season in the interior offensive line. He also excels in prestigious academic competitions.   “Gary is just scratching the surface of his potential,” Hernandez said. “He's very smart. He's a mini-genius. It's just a matter of putting it all together in terms of football.          Defensively, Lazos will spark the secondary from his safety spot along with rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='615512' first='Noah' last='Lundstrom'], who has impressed the Grants coaches with his high football IQ.   “Andres and Noah do a fantastic job getting our entire defense aligned properly,” Hernandez said. “They do a great job identifying the offensive formation and getting out guys where they need to be.”   Gonzales and Long will be the starting cornerbacks for the third straight season. Rising sophomore linebacker Doug Mitchell is also a member of the 1,000-pound club.   While the Grants offense struggled last season, the Pirates defense took a step forward, reducing points allowed by nearly 100. If the offense catches up with the defense, the Pirates will be in business.   Plunder on.                <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GrantsPirateFB/status/1604596148219453440?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/_Knight_Long/status/1647644498212651013?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/GrantsPirateFB/status/1645579997124628482?s=20 </div></figure>

Unflinching in the face of consecutive 1-9 seasons to begin his tenure as Grants head coach, Brandon Hernandez believes the Pirates are finally ready to plunder and reap some rewards.