Signing Day Aftermath: NMHU Adds Size, Strength With NM Signees

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This is Part 2 of a two-part series</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Numerous offensive linemen from New Mexico have signed to play at the next level in the last several years, a fact not lost on New Mexico Highlands head coach Kurt Taufa'asau and his assistants.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cowboys signed FIVE New Mexico offensive linemen in their 2026 signing class, including three from major 6A schools in the Albuquerque Metro Region: <strong>Nathanial Gutierrez</strong> (Cleveland – also listed as TE), 6-foot-7, 285-pound <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266890' first='Gabe' last='Koeppe']</strong> (Volcano Vista) and three-year starter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='851889' first='Skyler' last='Sargent']</strong> (La Cueva).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In addition, NMHU also signed Los Alamos OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1599532' first='Diego' last='Garcia']</strong> and 335-pound Bloomfield OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751732' first='Cristian' last='Medrano']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I love the trenches,” Taufa'asau told Prep Redzone New Mexico. "Every year, our goal is to beef up both sides of the ball. We feel we did a good job in the state bringing in bigger bodies to solidify our depth. Some are development guys that could possibly play for us in a year or two.”     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Medrano was one of two Bloomfield players signed by NMHU. Wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137877' first='Kaleb' last='Hutchens']</strong> was one of the top offensive players from the two-time Class 4A state champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We always want to recruit kids that come from championship programs,” Taufa'asau said. “We know those kids know how to work and they want to win. We always try to bring in guys from championship programs. That's a key part of our recruiting game plan. We don't just recruit any kid just to bring him in and fill a spot. We're selective in our process. Getting championship programs players is huge for us. They bring something different as far as work ethic, the vibe and knowing how to win.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grants DE/FB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='851894' first='Gary' last='Chavez']</strong>, arguably the strongest player in the state, was the third player signed from the Class 4A ranks by the Cowboys.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“He came to one of our campos and we stayed connected during the season,” Taufa'asau said. “The last weekend before Signing Day, he came for a visit with his Mom. He's close to one of our current players. Ultimately, it came down to him feeling comfortable and wanted with us. He had a bunch of questions on the visit. He has a very strong lower body. We saw that during the camp. He could be a fullback for us or play another position.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NMHU signed a pair of elite defensive backs from Class 5A powerhouse Artesia: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266504' first='Edel' last='Villa']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266497' first='Tootie' last='McNeil']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our offensive line coach (Robert Rodriguez) is from Artesia,” Taufa'asau said. “We know the type of player we're getting when we recruit schools like Artesia. Again, they're championship caliber players. It will benefit us in the long run.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Besides signing three players from Las Cruces, NMHU also inked three players from Volcano Vista. Six-foot-5 DE/Edge <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1224569' first='Kaleb' last='Vander Wilt']</strong> signed with the Cowboys on NSD. A week later, NMHU announced the signing of Volcano Vista DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1429624' first='Alvin' last='Gomez']</strong> on Feb. 12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We expect Kaleb to bring something different as a pass rusher with his athleticism and size,” Taufa'asau said. “We'll put some weight on him. That way, he'll be more stout in the run game. We're trying to bring a different dimension to our pass rush with guys like Kaleb and [player_tooltip player_id='1230420' first='Elijah' last='Richards'].” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, NMHU pulled 6-foot-5, 240-pound Logan TE <strong>Mason Wallin</strong> from the 6-man ranks. Wallin is also an outstanding basketball player and is currently averaging 21.0 points and over 10 rebounds per game for the defending Class 1A state champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Mason is a big guy,” Taufa'asau said. “His basketball background helps him. Very good athleticism. We like him as a big bodied tight end. Just getting him on campus was a huge plus for us. We saw how big he was. Those eight-man and six-man players tend to get overlooked. But we do a lot of research and we felt Mason was flying under-the-radar. His family loved the school and our program on his visit. He saw himself as having a vital role in our offense with our scheme and personnel.” </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bloomfield OL [player_tooltip player_id='1751732' first='Cristian' last='Medrano']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2131365,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/20251213_1424262.jpg?w=701" alt="" class="wp-image-2131365" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">✍️Welcome to Las Vegas!<br><br>🤠 | [player_tooltip player_id='1429624' first='Alvin' last='Gomez']<br>🏈 | Defensive Line<br>🟣 | Volcano Vista High School<br>⚪️ | Albuquerque, New Mexico<br>🐦 | <a href="https://twitter.com/A_Gomez_Toro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@A_Gomez_Toro</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheNewHighlands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheNewHighlands</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LA2VE6AS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LA2VE6AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/MVaWoFpMN8">pic.twitter.com/MVaWoFpMN8</a></p>&mdash; NMHU Football (@NMHUFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHUFootball/status/2022084269431304239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✍️Welcome to Las Vegas!<br><br>🤠 | [player_tooltip player_id='1599532' first='Diego' last='Garcia'] <br>🏈 | Offensive Line<br>🟣 | Los Alamos High School<br>⚪️ | Los Alamos, New Mexico <br>🐦 | <a href="https://twitter.com/trucks_358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@trucks_358</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheNewHighlands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheNewHighlands</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LA2VE6AS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LA2VE6AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/FDxRcaWrsE">pic.twitter.com/FDxRcaWrsE</a></p>&mdash; NMHU Football (@NMHUFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHUFootball/status/2019971606316269984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✍️Welcome to Las Vegas!<br><br>🤠 | [player_tooltip player_id='1751732' first='Cristian' last='Medrano'] <br>🏈 | Offensive Line<br>🟣 | Bloomfield High School<br>⚪️ | Bloomfield, New Mexico <br>🐦 | <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristian_m58?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cristian_m58</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheNewHighlands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheNewHighlands</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LA2VE6AS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LA2VE6AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/dvET7UzRW6">pic.twitter.com/dvET7UzRW6</a></p>&mdash; NMHU Football (@NMHUFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHUFootball/status/2019800882888540628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✍️Welcome to Las Vegas!<br><br>🤠 | [player_tooltip player_id='1137877' first='Kaleb' last='Hutchens'] <br>🏈 | Wide Receiver<br>🟣 | Bloomfield High School<br>⚪️ | Bloomfield, New Mexico<br>🐦 | <a href="https://twitter.com/KalebHutchens2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KalebHutchens2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheNewHighlands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheNewHighlands</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LA2VE6AS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LA2VE6AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/TZ4ms8vkA3">pic.twitter.com/TZ4ms8vkA3</a></p>&mdash; NMHU Football (@NMHUFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHUFootball/status/2019489284194287680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">✍️Welcome to Las Vegas!<br><br>🤠 | [player_tooltip player_id='1266497' first='Tootie' last='McNeil'] <br>🏈 | Defensive Back<br>🟣 | Artesia High School<br>⚪️ | Artesia, New Mexico <br>🐦 | <a href="https://twitter.com/tootiemcneil2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tootiemcneil2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheNewHighlands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheNewHighlands</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LA2VE6AS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LA2VE6AS</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xh6cri9MRu">pic.twitter.com/Xh6cri9MRu</a></p>&mdash; NMHU Football (@NMHUFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHUFootball/status/2019452815085592717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->