Freshman Friday: 8 Names To Know For Initial 2027 Rankings

<p>We're releasing our initial 2027 prospect rankings on Jan. 22. These players are currently freshmen at their respective schools. Here are 10 talented prospects who will definitely be on the list. But in which order? Tune in on Jan. 22!</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155027' first='Chase' last='Boykin'], Socorro</strong>: Boykin demonstrated as a freshman in 2023 that he has the potential to become one of the best two-way players in the state. Boykin rushed for 428 yards on 74 carries and amassed 49 tackles with 5.0 TFL from his LB spot. Boykin earned First-Team All-District honors on both sides of the ball and First Team All-State as a LB.    </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'], St. Pius X</strong>: The first thing that stand out about Carpenter is his size. He's listed at 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, so he's not your typical 14-year old. He also took on the challenge of playing QB for the Sartans and displayed a strong throwing arm. We'll hear a lot more about Carpenter in the next few years.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'], Bernalillo</strong>: Perhaps the most fascinating next level prospect in the 2027 class. The extremely athletic Castro is 6-foot-2, 175 pounds. He caught 25 passes for 342 yard and 7 TD while making 70 tackles with 10.0 TFL and 7 QB hurries in defense. He'll have his older brother, Spartans QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'], throwing him passes for one more year.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155032' first='CJ' last='Granados'], Dexter</strong>: Class 3A was loaded with talented freshman in 2023 and Granado was one of the best, quarterbacking Dexter to a successful 9-3 season that saw the Demons ranked No. 1 in Class 3A for multiple weeks by MaxPreps. Granados threw for about 1,400 yards and rushed for about 300 yards. Granados and Dexter will take their talents to Class 2A in 2024 and 2025.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], St. Michael's</strong>: The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Hunt led all freshman in the state with 10.0 sacks, double the number of the No. 2 player. He tied a school record for most sacks in a season. He finished with 55 tackles. If Hunt keeps growing and developing, he'll soon have college coaches arriving in droves to St. Michael's campus in Santa Fe.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154930' first='Javier' last='Jimenez'], Clovis</strong>: Jimenez played quarterback and cornerback for Class 6A Clovis in 2023, an impressive feat for a freshman. Defense is where he excelled as he made 65 tackles, 5.0 TFL and 5 passes defended. Clovis broke through with a district title in 2023 and Jimenez is definitely one of the guys they'll be counting on to continue the climb up the 6A ladder.   </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155059' first='Dominick' last='Lewallen'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: Rarely do you see a freshman starting at left tackle for a Class 6A program but Lewallen earned the starting job for the Jaguars. He more than held his own. Already listed at 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, Lewallen has the potential to become one of the top offensive linemen in New Mexico in a couple of years.      </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'], Pojoaque Valley</strong>: Definitely one of the most exciting freshman to play at the varsity level in 2023. Villegas is a TD waiting to happen every time he touches the ball, either as a running back, wide receiver or kick returner. Pojoaque Valley is moving to Class 3A in 2024 and will compete in the same challenging district as St. Michael's, Robertson, West Las Vegas and Hope Christian. We're intrigued to see how Villegas does in those games.        </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/BoykinTrain/status/1736281165722730548?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/5starDominick/status/1689267173016182784?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/j2cobos/status/1731489603528646876?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/CoachZekeV/status/1742639376298058175?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/cj_granados10/status/1725201844174274971?s=20 </div></figure>

We're releasing our initial 2027 prospect rankings on Jan. 22. These players are currently freshmen at their respective schools. Here are 10 talented prospects who will definitely be on the list. But in which order? Tune in on Jan. 22!