City Series: Top 5 DL in Northern New Mexico
Photo: Prep Redzone
In this article:
We continue with our City Series by taking a look at the top 5 defensive linemen in the Northern New Mexico Region:
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269612" first="Leonard" last="Archuleta"], Taos</strong>: Possessing a 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame, Archuleta was one of the top defensive ends in Class 4A in 2021. Now he’s ready to become one of the top defensive ends in the state. He finished the 2021 season with 63 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. He’ll be the leader of what should be a solid Taos defense in 2022. New Mexico State is one of several schools that have expressed interest.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269601" first="Bodie" last="Schlinger"], Robertson</strong>: Schlinger earned Second-Team All-State honors with a sensational junior campaign that saw him register 87 tackles and 6.5 sacks for the Cardinals from his DE position. Simply, Schlinger was a major reason Robertson won the Class 3A title and why they’ll be a major factor again in 2022.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274797" first="Robert" last="Williams"], Bloomfield</strong>: Williams has emerged as one of the best defensive linemen in the Four Corners. As a sophomore in 2021, he totaled 47 tackles and 4 sacks, earning Second-team All-State honors. He should be a force again along the Bobcats defensive line in 2022. Bloomfield has a lot of talent coming back.
<strong>Mathias Duran, St. Michael’s</strong>: How good was Duran in 2021 as a sophomore? He was named a First-Team All-State Defensive Lineman by the NMHSCA. The Horsemen reached the Class 3A championship game (lost to Robertson) and could get that far again in 2022.
<strong>Jedrick Jozwiak, Taos</strong>: Like Archuleta, Jozwiak is hidden in the mountains in northern New Mexico but he enjoyed a solid freshman campaign in 2021 with 37 tackles in 8 games. He’s already listed at 6-foot-2, so he could be a monster by the time he’s a senior.
<strong>Honorable Mention</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="270043" first="Ernesto" last="Valencia"] (Capital); [player_tooltip player_id="270052" first="Isaiah" last="Valdez"] (Capital); Toby Rivera (Santa Fe); Isaac Foutz (Farmington); Jay Gutierrez (Bloomfield).
https://twitter.com/LeonardArchule5/status/1514799836746321928
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue Reading
Already a subscriber?
Log in
