From Shadow To Light: 10 Under the Radar QBs for 2025

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Going into the 2025 high school football season, the top quarterbacks are fairly well established. Most of them had superb seasons in 2024. However, there are other QBs flying under the radar deserving of more attention. Here are the top ‘under the radar' quarterbacks for 2025:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604910' first='Tristan' last='Begay'], Tohatchi</strong>: The 6-foot-2 Begay enjoyed a sensational 2024 season as a sophomore, leading Tohatchi to a 7-win season by throwing for 1,776 yards and 24 TD while completing 65 percent of his passes. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854297' first='Tristin' last='Fernandez'], Grants</strong>: Fernandez isn't just an excellent duel threat QB, he's one of the top two-way players in Class 4A. He threw for 1,465 yards and 10 TD, and rushed for 334 yards on offense while making 103 tackles and 15.0 TFL (8 sacks) on defense. Impressive numbers that could go even higher in 2025. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604761' first='Jose' last='Jaramillo'], Valley</strong>: Dividing time with graduating senior [player_tooltip player_id='1595733' first='Julian' last='Butkivich'], Jaramillo threw for nearly 1,800 yards and 15 TD while completing 61.1 percent of his passes in 2024. Valley QBs threw for over 2,900 yards last season. The job belongs mainly to Jaramillo in 2025, so he could reach some eye-opening numbers as a senior. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594010' first='Jahleel' last='Lewis'], Sandia</strong>: With all the great quarterbacks in Class 6A, Lewis was overshadowed in 2024 as he led Sandia to the playoffs as a sophomore. His impressive performance at the recent Prep Redzone Stock Up Showcase in Grants shows he's ready for a huge 2025. He threw for over 1,600 yards and rushed for nearly 400 yards in 2024. He can make all the throws. How he meshes with new Sandia head coach Tylon Wilder will be key.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>R.J. Montoya, Hope Christian</strong>: Montoya rarely makes mistakes as seen by his impressive 23-to-2 TD Pass-to-Interception ratio in 2024. Last season he completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,857 yards in addition to being a threat with his legs. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='851884' first='Israel' last='Nieto'], Chaparral</strong>: Nieto helped spark Chaparral's revival in 2024 as he led the Lobos to the Class 4A quarterfinals, their first playoff appearance in recent memory. Nieto threw for 1,362 yards and 11 TD while rushing for over 400 yards and 6 TD.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137875' first='Tristen' last='Onsurez'], Loving</strong>: Onsurez isn't the biggest guy, but he's a major weapon for the Falcons, which reached the Class 2A semifinals last November. He joined the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club in 2024 by throwing for 1,330 yards and 14 TD while rushing for 1,071 yards and 15 TD. Loving returns most of their major offensive contributors in 2025. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600830' first='Daniel' last='Ornelas'], Jal</strong>: Ornelas was one of the top dual threat QBs in Class 2A last season. He passed for over 1,500 yards and 15 TD while rushing for 606 yards and 5 TD. Great size at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, so he's tough to bring down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600795' first='Salid' last='Rashid'], Miyamura</strong>: Rashid could be the most ‘under the radar' QB in the state. Last season he threw for close to 1,900 yards and 20 TD in 10 games. He also scored 5 rushing touchdowns. After losing in the first round of the playoffs last November, Rashid and Miyamura look to take the next step in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600087' first='Lorenzo' last='Sedillo-Urban'], Legacy Academy</strong>: Legacy Academy was unbeaten in their first season of 11-man football until losing to Loving in the Class 2A playoffs. Nonetheless, Legacy and Sedillo-Urban distinguished themselves with the latter emerging as one of the top dual threat QBs in 2A. Completing 64 percent of his passes, he threw for 1,847 yards and 30 TD while rushing for 440 yards, 11 TD and averaging over 8 yards per carry. Expect more of the same in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RJ MONTOYA #14 (Junior Year) Highlights - <a href="https://t.co/a4oqcnRmEf">https://t.co/a4oqcnRmEf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArturoCafeSeven?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArturoCafeSeven</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachsalinas_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachsalinas_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/zekeprado?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zekeprado</a></p>&mdash; Roman Montoya (@RJ_Montoya_) <a href="https://twitter.com/RJ_Montoya_/status/1862668303258526036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sophomore Year ✅<br>1373 Passing Yards<br>14 Passing TD<br>272 Rushing Yards<br>3 Rushing TD<br>10 Games Played <br><br>⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/tony_mccoy3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tony_mccoy3</a>⁩ ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachAdcox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachAdcox</a>⁩ ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a>⁩ <br><br>Check out my highlight - <a href="https://t.co/xicEagBXL7">https://t.co/xicEagBXL7</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1594010' first='Jahleel' last='Lewis'] (@JahleelLewis1) <a href="https://twitter.com/JahleelLewis1/status/1858349669010882664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TOP PLAYS WEEK TWO<br>10/17 cmp/att<br>147 Pass yards 2 passing Tds<br>2 rushing~ 6 tds in season <br>49 rushing yards<br>48-14 W over Aztec! <a href="https://t.co/7VjHxXu9k4">pic.twitter.com/7VjHxXu9k4</a></p>&mdash; salid.rashid (@RashidSalid) <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidSalid/status/1831205728456962330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->