Recruiting: ENMU grabs two more NM prospects; Clovis LB To WTAM

Two of the top 2024 prospects in eastern New Mexico have made their decisions on where they will play their college football.   Clovis LB/TE Kohen Matus and Portales WR [player_tooltip player_id='591958' first='Zane' last='Mayberry'] committed to West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico, respectively, on Tuesday. Both players will stay relatively close to home.   Matus, the leading tackler for Clovis this past season, visited West Texas A&M on Monday and quickly determined the school was the perfect fit for him on a number of different levels.   “This is a school I would want to attend even if football didn't work out for me,” Matus told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “The football facilities are very nice as well. They are among the best in Division II. All around, everything was pretty impressive. The campus is nice, very clean and kept up to date. The tour guy said, ‘look for construction when you visit a school because that means growth,' and they had a lot.”   Matus said he was recruited by West Texas A&M to play linebacker, although his specific position won't be known until the fall after preseason camp begins.   Matus chose West Texas A&M over eight other offers. He said the other schools showing the most interest were Hendrix College, Southwestern University and Sul Ross State University.   Clovis is located about 88 miles southwest of Canyon, TX, where WTAM is located.   Matus spent three years on the Clovis varsity. He saw limited action as a sophomore in 2021 before breaking through as a starting defensive end in 2022 when he finished with 44 tackles. In 2023, Matus moved to LB and collected 100 tackles with 3 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles and 3 QB hurries as the Wildcats won the district title and qualified for the Class 6A playoffs.      “My career at Clovis was bittersweet at times,” Matus said. “My sophomore year with Coach Cal, I was the new kid and didn't get a lot of playing time on varsity. Junior year, I played mostly defensive end. My senior year, I feel like I finally found my niche and played linebacker and tight end. I feel like I excelled and played my best in those positions. All in all, every single year taught me something about football and myself.”   Mayberry is the 16th New Mexico prospect to commit to ENMU since the beginning of January, and he won't have far to travel as Portales High School is located just  down the street from the ENMU campus. He was one of the key figures on Portales' prolific offense in 2023 as he made 46 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 TD in 12 games, averaging 22 yards per reception.   In his career at Portales, Mayberry caught nearly 100 passes for over 2,000 receiving yards and 22 TD for the Rams.   ENMU picked up its 17th commitment from a 2024 New Mexico prospect Tuesday night when La Cueva WR/TE [player_tooltip player_id='274718' first='Cruz' last='Markham'], the reigning state champion in the 400 meters, announced on social media that he had committed to the Greyhounds.      Markham, of course, helped lead the Bears to the Class 6A championship in November. He stands 6-foot-4, 200 pounds yet runs the 40 in less than 4.6 seconds. He won the Class 5A state title in the 400 meters last May at the state track and field championships.   "Coach (Kelley) Lee and the vision he had on how to best utilize me (was convincing)," Markham told Prep Redzone New Mexico. "I liked the fact that faith and family are important to the coaching staff. I will have the opportunity to compete for a starting spot my freshman year."   Markham was recruited by ENMU to play the flex receiver spot in the flexbone offense. He visited ENMU last week and like many other prospects was impressed with the campus, stadium, football facilities and the 'college town feel' of Portales. He chose the Greyhounds over NMMI, Fort Lewis College and Valparaiso. The former staff at New Mexico offered him immediately after the conclusion of the 6A state championship game but those coaches were dismissed a short time later.   "I had an unbelievable experience as a La Cueva football player," Markham. "I was fortunate to play for an awesome coaching staff and play with many great teammates during my career. Being a three-year starter on three championship caliber teams, being a two-time First-Team All-State player and ending my career with a state championship as a senior were the highlights for me."     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/KohenMatus/status/1752479115645448646?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/zane_mayberry/status/1752408626860286371?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/CruzMarkham/status/1752524550607089919?s=20 </div></figure>

Two of the top 2024 prospects in eastern New Mexico have made their decisions on where they will play their college football.