Rising 2027 Defensive Beasts You Need To Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who are the 2027 defensive players flying under the radar that you need to know going into the 2026 season? Here are 10:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2104483' first='Lucas' last='Basile'], Hot Springs</strong>: Basile is Hot Springs' top returning tackler with 79 stops and 15.5 TFL. He'll be the leader of the Tigers defense from his MLB spot in 2026. Good size at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds. His speed allows him to wreak havoc behind the line of scrimmage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679747' first='Isaac' last='Behrens'], Cibola</strong>: Behrens will the subject of conversation in 2026. He's 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and is coming off a solid junior campaign. He finished with 60 tackles and 9.0 TFL to help lead the Cougars to the 6A playoffs. Definitely a next level talent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2104462' first='Robert' last='Garcia'], Hobbs</strong>: The Eagles have produced some outstanding linebackers and defensive linemen in recent years – some of who are playing at the next level – but Garcia is proof Hobbs has some outstanding defensive backs as well. Garcia had 96 tackles, 6.0 TFL and 2.0 TFL in 2025. Fantastic tackler in space. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1680161' first='Haziel' last='Goitia'], Eunice</strong>: The Cardinals return five of their top eight tacklers from last season, led by Goitia. He led the underrated Eunice defense (when you have one of the prolific passers in state history as your QB, that's bound to happen) with 123 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 3 INT and 2 forced fumbles. Yeah, he's all over the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606069' first='Brad' last='Mallory'], Los Lunas</strong>: The Tigers' hire of Stephen Johnston as their new head coach captured the headlines this week. In the fall, they'll be talking about Mallory, who was the No. 3 junior tackler in the state last season with 150 tackles. 16.0 TFL and 10.0 QB hurries. Los Lunas returns to Class 5A in 2026 and probably enters the new campaign as the favorite in Class 5A-1. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155314' first='Rigo' last='Regalado'], Dexter</strong>: Regalado was one of the top two-way players in Class 3A last season. This year, Dexter moves to Class 2A. Defensively, he had 85 tackles, an impressive 17.0 TFL and 4 forced fumbles in 2025. Look for him to post similar numbers in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2104470' first='Jacob' last='Soto'], Las Cruces</strong>: The Bulldawg linebackers grab most of the attention, but Soto put up some impressive numbers in 2025 from his defensive line spot. He made 89 tackles with 4 QB hurries. Quick and active. The Las Cruces defense could be crazy good in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Vincent Varela, Manzano</strong>: Fantastic size and skill for a defensive end at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. But he also possesses the elite athleticism to make plays on offense as a TE/WR. Nearly half of his tackles last season (24.5 of 58) produced negative yardage. Added 10 QB hurries. Next level talent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/cYJ2fIv63y">https://t.co/cYJ2fIv63y</a><br>End of season highlights/stats:<br>-150 total tackles <br>-16 TFLS<br>- 3.0 SACKS<br>-1 INT<br>-2 PD'S<br>-2 FF'S<br><br>*1st Team All district Linebacker<br>*1st Team All Metro Linebacker <br>*2nd Team all State Linebacker <br>*All district Defensive Player of the Year</p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1606069' first='Brad' last='Mallory'] (@bradamallory) <a href="https://twitter.com/bradamallory/status/1998520913508315251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Junior season highlights (9 games) DE/TE/ ATH<br>Sacks-7<br>TFLs-25 <br>Turnovers-5 <br>Tot tackles-60, Solo-46<br>21 Rec for 365 yds and 6 TDs <br>6”4 220 lbs, 3.93 GPA <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a><a href="https://twitter.com/ManzanoFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManzanoFB</a> @monarchfbcoach <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vi3TFPWDrz">https://t.co/Vi3TFPWDrz</a></p>&mdash; Vincent “Vinny” Varela Jr. (@VinnyVarela84) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyVarela84/status/1987317760293224873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>    </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->