Super Sophomores: Top 2027 Prospects Making An Impact (Defense)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're through eight weeks of the 2024 high school football season (Week 9 started last night) and plenty of 2027 prospects (sophomores) have made a difference with their significant contributions. Here are some of the top 2027 prospects on defense:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605059' first='Bryson' last='Bloom'], Alamogordo</strong>: &nbsp;The Tigers sophomore DB is having a very good season with 64 tackles, 3.0 TFL and 2 forced fumbles entering Thursday night's home game against Las Cruces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'], Bernalillo</strong>: Our #1 prospect in the 2027 class is having another special season on both sides of the ball for unbeaten Bernalillo. Defensively, he has 32 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 6 sacks and 9 QB hurries. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606048' first='Xander' last='Chavez'], Legacy Academy</strong>: The Silverbacks are undefeated going into Week 9 and Chavez has enjoyed a fabulous season on defense with 56 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 10.0 QB hurries and 2 forced fumbles. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606054' first='Alejandro' last='Guerra'], Organ Mountain</strong>: He's leading the Knights in tackles by a wide margin (62 in first 7 games) and has 3 interceptions (one came on the final play in the end zone in the win over Alamogordo) and 1 forced fumble.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], St. Michael's</strong>: Hunt was one of the top freshmen defensive ends in the state last season as he set a school record for most sacks in a single season. This season, he's excelling again with 35 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 2 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155082' first='Raul' last='Lopez'], Chaparral</strong>: Lopez is a major reason Chaparral is experiencing success this season. He has 72 tackles, 1 INT and 3 passes defended in just 6 games.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben'], Carlsbad</strong>: When we saw McKibben at the Prep Redzone Combine in April, we predicted he would have a very good sophomore season. And he has, registering 75 tackles, 10.5 TFL and 1 INT through 8 games. Nobody in the 2028 class has more tackles than McKibben.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248719' first='Chase' last='Nelson'], St. Pius X</strong>: All the special young talent on St. Pius X isn't just on the offensive side of the ball. Nelson has 13.0 TFL and 3.0 sacks among his 41 tackles this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155310' first='Fernando' last='Prieto'], Dexter</strong>: Prieto has been wreaking havoc in opposing offensive&nbsp; backfields all season long. Through 8 games, he has 10.0 TFL6.0 sacks and 2 QB hurries. He also has 1 INT and a 24-yard fumble return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155314' first='Rigo' last='Regalado'], Dexter</strong>: The Demons have some exception young defensive talent. Regalado joins Prieto in that group with 41 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1604762' first='Joaquin' last='Aragon'], St. Pius X</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1272796' first='Ja'Von' last='Bouldin'], Atrisco Heritage</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1594264' first='Ben' last='Brousseau'], Los Alamos</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606105' first='Tristan' last='Carranza'], NMMI</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606155' first='Malachi' last='Chestnut'], Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606124' first='Nathanael' last='Cereceres'], Alamogordo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1155256' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales'], Robertson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1155065' first='Tyvin' last='Howard'], Chaparral</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1605052' first='Marcus' last='Kannady'], NMMI</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1155132' first='Aiden' last='Maldonado'], Manzano</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares'], Valencia</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606083' first='Tommy' last='Salgado'], Portales</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1604734' first='Jacari' last='Smith'], Rio Rancho</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vincent Varela, Manzano</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606138' first='Amryn' last='Wheeler'], Hobbs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/COLTONMCKIBBEN9/status/1837966692170788871","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/COLTONMCKIBBEN9/status/1837966692170788871 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->