2023 West Texas Team Preview: Hanks Knights
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<p><strong>Hanks 2023 Preview</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Scott Veliz </p>
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<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Knights </p>
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<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @Hanks_Football; @Coach_Veliz; @Hanks_FBbooster</p>
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<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Black, Red and Silver </p>
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<p><strong>2022 Record</strong>: 3-7 (1-4 District) </p>
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<p><strong>Overview</strong>: After finishing fifth in District 5A-1 and missing the playoffs last season, Hanks hired a new head coach in Scott Veliz, who had been an offensive coordinator in the Dallas area for four years before returning home to El Paso.</p>
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<p>Dynamic senior dual threat QB <strong>Marcus Porras</strong> returns as the Knights' starting signal caller after throwing for 2,162 yards and 17 TD in 2022. As he showed in the spring, Porras should flourish in Veliz's new power spread scheme. Sophomore <strong>Zach Kania</strong> (2026) will be the backup QB. He saw action as a freshman in 2022. He's the future QB for Hanks. This season, though, belongs to Porras.</p>
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<p>Senior <strong>Ruben Laguna</strong> took over as Hanks' No. 1 RB last year when starter [player_tooltip player_id='1420735' first='Xavier' last='Johnson'] (now a walk-on at UTEP) was injured and ended up rushing for 662 yards and 6 TD on 142 carries. Junior <strong>Michael Oliver</strong> will get some carries as well after serving multiple roles last season. He'll do the same thing this year, lining up at RB, TE, H-Back and LB in 2023.</p>
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<p>Senior WR <strong>Jude Blanco</strong> returns after leading the Knights in receptions (61), receiving yards (931) and average yards per reception (15.3) last season. Blanco is fast, runs good routes and has quickly grasped the new offensive system. He has been described as a Wes Welker clone. He should thrive at slot receiver but can line up on the outside too with his speed. Behind Blanco, Hanks is largely inexperienced at WR, so they'll be relying on some new faces.</p>
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<p><strong>Andrew Castillo</strong> was an all-district safety in 2022 and will play outside receiver. <strong>Christian Rodriguez</strong> played OLB in 2022 and he'll also be an outside WR. Both will play a lot more on offense. Hanks plans to rotate seven or eight receivers, so plenty of players will see action. <strong>Ernest Reyes</strong> is back at center and he'll anchor the offensive line. <strong>Noah Villanueva</strong> has experience while the key newcomers will be <strong>Damian Gamboa, Richard Armendariz </strong>and<strong> Paolo Casas-Silva</strong>. </p>
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<p>Defensively, Hanks will change to a 3-4 scheme. The key to success in that alignment is having a top-notch nose tackle. Senior <strong>Christian Sandoval</strong> will fill that role and see spot duty on the OL. The ends will be senior <strong>Dylan Vasquez</strong> and promising two-way sophomore <strong>Derek Chacon</strong>. <strong>Justin Allen</strong> is one of the top returning inside linebackers. He's very strong. He'll pair with OLB <strong>Abram Acosta</strong>, pound-for-pound the strongest player in the Knights program. Oliver will play LB as well along with Rodriguez.</p>
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<p>In the secondary, Castillo is the best safety. Next to him will be <strong>Jesus Cano</strong>. One cornerback spot will be filled by senior <strong>Jaden Casillas</strong> while the other spot is TBA. Numerous players are contending for the starting job. <strong>Willie Aguilar</strong> is one of the contenders. </p>
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<p><strong>2023 Schedule</strong>: Hanks won't have to leave El Paso this season. The Knights open the season with home games against Bowie and El Paso but then play five of the next seven games on the road.</p>
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<p>Aug. 25 BOWIE</p>
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<p>Sept. 1 EL PASO</p>
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<p>Sept. 8 at Irvin</p>
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<p>Sept. 15 at EP Austin</p>
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<p>Sept. 22 BURGES</p>
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<p>Sept. 29 at Bel Air*</p>
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<p>Oct. 6 HORIZON*</p>
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<p>Oct. 13 Bye</p>
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<p>Oct. 20 at EP Del Valle*</p>
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<p>Oct. 27 at EP Parkland*</p>
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<p>Nov. 3 YSLETA*</p>
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<p>* District Game </p>
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<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “Being back home in El Paso around family and friends and the staff I've been able to put together has been great. I'm very excited. . .Marcus had a very good spring. He embraced the offense right away. He was committed. He can sling it and he can run. He's very smart. As he goes, we go. Our system has been successful everywhere I've been. Marcus is the type of quarterback I like running our system. We can do so many different things with him. . .We have an opportunity to be competitive in every game because all our opponents are like us. . .Our numbers have improved. My third day here we had 17 players in the program. But by the time spring football started we had 66 players. Now we're averaging about 100 to 105 kids in summer workouts. Little by little, we're building it. There's a cultural change happening. The kids are excited and we're excited.” – Hanks head coach Scott Veliz.</p>
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Hanks 2023 Preview
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