Signing Day Review: NMMI Focused On In-State Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the past few years, New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) has increasingly focused on recruiting players from the Land of Enchantment. Quarterback Diego Pavia's well publicized success since leaving NMMI following the JUCO national championship season in 2021 has brought the school beneficial attention throughout the country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When former New Mexico State and Eastern Mexico assistant Oliver Soukup was named NMMI head coach last June, one of his most important goals was to sustain the school's momentum with in-state recruiting first begun under former head coach Kurt Taufa'asau, who was hired last spring by Division II New Mexico Highlands for the same role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Well, Soukup's first recruiting class at NMMI should go a long ways towards confirming the school as quite friendly to New Mexico players. NMMI signed 15 2025 prospects from the state, including some of the top players at their respective positions and a few ‘under-the-radar' prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're pleased with how we did in the state, but we want more,” Soukup told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “I want every great New Mexico player to come here. That's our primary mission. Yes, I'm greedy. I'm a New Mexico guy (Soukup grew up in Cloudcroft), so it's important to me that we build our base with New Mexico guys. I want 70 percent of our roster to be New Mexico guys.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Broncos signed two quarterbacks from New Mexico: Roswell dual threat quarterback <strong>Jacob Palomino</strong>, who led the Coyotes to the 2024 Class 5A state championship, and Carlsbad's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez']</strong>, who threw for 2,173 yards and 27 TD as a senior in 2024. Perez played for Soukup in 2022 during his one season as the Cavemen's head coach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Soukup expects both Palomino and Perez will compete for the Broncos' starting job during the summer along with multiple incumbents, a group that includes former Lovington standout Wyatt Gomez.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Kason did a great job at Carlsbad in terms of changing systems from when I was there to now,” Soukup said. “I knew how smart he was and how dedicated he is to learning the game. His arm has really showed out the past two years. Jacob's athleticism and winning mentality really stand out. He's played in three state championship games. I can't wait to see those guys compete.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lovington RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615565' first='Ondalis' last='Cardenas']</strong> and slot WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615536' first='Alec' last='Holguin']</strong>, both of whom excelled for the Wildcats in 2024 during their first season in Class 5A, further highlight the offensive skill positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Both those guys bring a winning mentality,” Soukup said. “They know how to win. You see it on Friday night.” &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NMMI made a splash along the offensive line by signing several highly regarded prospects, including <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1057304' first='Kylar' last='Pickering']</strong> of Hobbs, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613058' first='Valente' last='Herrera']</strong> of Lovington, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='837139' first='Gabriel' last='Marquez']</strong> of Cleveland and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137847' first='David' last='Gutierrez'] Jr.</strong> of Socorro.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The offensive linemen we signed, those guys get nasty,” Soukup said. “I want that in our O-Line. I want guys who are going to compete and get after it. I couldn't be more excited with the offensive linemen we signed.” &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gutierrez is a two-time wrestling state champion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“When David narrows his focus to just football, I think the sky is the limit for him,” Soukup said. “He is nasty. I love wrestlers because they understand leverage and how to manipulate and move another person. That's huge.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, NMMI signed two of the state's top linebackers in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119266' first='Tristan' last='Davis']</strong> of Hobbs and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='836944' first='Keegan' last='Nichols']</strong> of Roswell. Davis finished second in the state in tackles with 158. Nichols is slated to play a hybrid safety/OLB spot. ILB <strong>Barton Pieratt</strong> comes from Gateway Christian, an 8-man program based in Roswell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Tristan loves the game of football,” Soukup said. “I love watching him play. When I saw him at camps, he was flying around and smiling and having a good time. I said, ‘I want that guy on my team, wherever I'm at.' Barton is a throwback. He is hard-nosed. He loved us. When I watched him play, I was sold on him.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LB <strong>Zachai Bradford</strong> of Rio Rancho and LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594104' first='Diego' last='Ramirez']</strong> of Carlsbad also signed with NMMI. Bradford will play the same hybrid safety/OLB spot as Nichols.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the secondary, NMMI signed the talented ‘Omar Boys' from Centennial – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259081' first='Omar' last='Sanchez']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='837021' first='Omar' last='Terrones']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“What I like about those guys is I know they've been coached well at Centennial and neither one has hit their ceiling,” Soukup said. “There is still a lot of room for growth.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✅Signed<a href="https://twitter.com/KylarPickering?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KylarPickering</a> <br><br>📍<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a><a href="https://t.co/NtCY6R27H4">https://t.co/NtCY6R27H4</a> <a href="https://t.co/kVGZC4Vygu">pic.twitter.com/kVGZC4Vygu</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887181768794776091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Signed ✅ <a href="https://twitter.com/Barton_Pieratt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Barton_Pieratt</a> <br><br>📍 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a><a href="https://t.co/g79BqF7YaU">https://t.co/g79BqF7YaU</a> <a href="https://t.co/rMCzJJOKm3">pic.twitter.com/rMCzJJOKm3</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887189059266551827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Signed✅<a href="https://twitter.com/Ondalis_33?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ondalis_33</a> <br><br>📍<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a> <a href="https://t.co/a1al2kvk9A">https://t.co/a1al2kvk9A</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qjo031vPRA">pic.twitter.com/Qjo031vPRA</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887189010843639853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Signed ✅ <a href="https://twitter.com/herrera_valente?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@herrera_valente</a> <br><br>📍 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a><a href="https://t.co/fBFEBH9Wfl">https://t.co/fBFEBH9Wfl</a> <a href="https://t.co/TfdhBwmyfa">pic.twitter.com/TfdhBwmyfa</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887177991668834697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✅Signed<a href="https://twitter.com/omarsfb9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@omarsfb9</a> <br><br>📍<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a><a href="https://t.co/WJZwORW2Dq">https://t.co/WJZwORW2Dq</a> <a href="https://t.co/R3N5BLLQfs">pic.twitter.com/R3N5BLLQfs</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887176949287821389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Signed ✅ <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobPalomino21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JacobPalomino21</a> <br><br>📍 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRINDHOUSE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GRINDHOUSE</a><a href="https://t.co/WZXnamMJlF">https://t.co/WZXnamMJlF</a> <a href="https://t.co/i534P85k3w">pic.twitter.com/i534P85k3w</a></p>&mdash; NMMI Football (@nmmibroncos) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmmibroncos/status/1887176887916765556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->