Updated 2024 Rankings: New Additions (Part 1)

We revealed our updated 2024 rankings on Monday. As always, the fresh rankings featured a considerable number of newcomers. In Part 1 of a series, here are 10 new additions to the rankings: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340292" first="Kash" last="Alley"], Las Cruces</strong>: Alley was a two-way player for the Bulldawgs as a sophomore in 2021. He started along the defensive line and proved to be difficult to block. Las Cruces should have one of the top defensive lines in southern New Mexico this coming season and Alley will be a major contributor. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340290" first="Ricardo" last="Andrade"], Las Cruces</strong>: Like Alley, Andrade was a two-way starter for the Bulldawgs in 2021, lining up at tight end and linebacker. Las Cruces coach Mark Lopez describes Andrade as “just a football player,” which might just be the best compliment you can give somebody playing high school football. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340277" first="Carson" last="Armstrong"], La Cueva</strong>: La Cueva loses some great defensive players from last season’s Class 6A semifinal team, but Armstrong looks ready to fill the void at defensive end and outside linebacker.  Armstrong is strong, deadlifting over 400 pounds. The Bears will have a dynamic offense in 2022 and as long as the defense does its part, they should go deep into the 6A playoffs again. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340285" first="Vences" last="Caraveo"], West Mesa</strong>: It’s the dawn of a new era at West Mesa with Landrick Brody having assumed the head coaching reins. Good news for Brody? He’s got some talent to work with on both sides of the ball. Caraveo is a promising outside linebacker and could emerge as one of the Mustangs’ leaders on defense. He’s getting noticed too as evidenced by his numerous camp invitations, including Grand Valley University in Michigan. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340259" first="Manuel" last="Gonzales"], Grants</strong>: What does a bolt of lightning look like? Because Grants struggled last season in terms of won-loss record (1-9), few people paid attention to Gonzales, who earned all-district honors as a slot receiver. No, he’s not the biggest or fastest receiver you’ll ever see (listed at 5-6, 128 pounds) but as he proved at the Prep Redzone Showcase in Colorado several weeks ago, he runs great routes, possesses soft hands, is extremely elusive with elite change of direction skills and defensive backs struggle to keep up with him. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340188" first="Ben" last="Linfoot"], Cleveland</strong>: Is Linfoot the next great offensive lineman at Cleveland? Certainly, based on his off-season work, Linfoot has become one of the most intriguing OL in the state. Undoubtedly, he’s one of the strongest. He recently set a new school record for OL/DL in the squat by lifting 525 pounds. He also benches 300 pounds. His amazing strength for a player his age (his Twitter profile says he’s still just 16 years old) should boost his chances of earning a starting job along the Storm’s interior O-Line this fall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340262" first="Alexander" last="Mora"], Santa Fe</strong>: The younger brother of former Santa Fe standout and Eastern New Mexico signee [player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"] is quickly becoming a college prospect on his own. He recently ran 100 meters in 11.6 seconds, a nice time for a sophomore in high school. And he still has two football seasons left in his high school career, allowing him plenty of time to continue growing, maturing and developing. We predict Mora will get his 100 time under 11 seconds and become a major prospect. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340266" first="Matthew" last="Pascuzzi"], La Cueva</strong>: A three-sport star, Pascuzzi gained valuable experience playing with La Cueva’s varsity as a sophomore last season, finishing with 22 tackles, 4 TFL and 2 sacks. If he continues to develop, we could be talking about Pascuzzi as one of the top outside linebackers in the Albuquerque Metro area at this time next year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340275" first="Daniel" last="Romero"], Santa Rosa</strong>: Any football player whose nickname is ‘Bubba” is our kind of guy. Romero is very strong for his age (still 15 according to his Twitter profile) and emerged last season as one of the most promising defensive linemen in Class 2A. He finished with 34 tackles in 9 games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340165" first="Bryce" last="Sanchez"], Roswell</strong>: When Roswell started the 2021 season with an 0-4 record, many folks wrote off the Coyotes. But Sanchez helped lead Roswell to the district championship and a top four seed in the Class 5A playoffs by rushing for more than 850 yards and 4 TD in 10 games. Five weeks ago, he finished 3^rd in his weight class (198 pounds) at the state powerlifting meet. With his strength, Sanchez will definitely be (literally) pounding the rock in 2022. https://twitter.com/carson_arm/status/1509309511391088640 https://twitter.com/CaraveoVences/status/1523064083238428672 https://twitter.com/CoachBranTheMan/status/1518948278368235521 https://twitter.com/ben_linfoot/status/1516091448252325895 https://twitter.com/alexander_2mora/status/1512871129689456643 https://twitter.com/MattPascuzzi/status/1489073466053517319 https://twitter.com/bubba_romero/status/1517629493053116417 https://twitter.com/BryceSanchez_/status/1503878744670412803