Q&A: Atrisco Heritage’s Chris Rios brings passion, work ethic
Chris Rios Chris Rios 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Atrisco Heritage | 2021 State NM spoke from the heart. Soon after the NMAA announced in July that the 2020 high school football season would be moved to the spring,…
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Continue ReadingChris Rios Chris Rios 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Atrisco Heritage | 2021 State NM spoke from the heart.
Soon after the NMAA announced in July that the 2020 high school football season would be moved to the spring, the 2021 Albuquerque (NM) Atrisco Heritage outside linebacker/defensive end posted an emotional message on Twitter beginning with the words, “Football is more than just a sport. It’s a brotherhood.”
Since then, the tweet has been liked nearly 200 times.
Unafraid to speak his mind, Rios has become one of the voices of New Mexico high school football players in these challenging times. And colleges have noticed his passion and zeal, as well as his talents.
Today, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Rios holds nine offers from Division III schools: Oberlin, Bethel, Kenyon, University of the South, Hamline, Carthage, Concordia, US Merchants Marine Academy and US Coast Guard Academy.
Rios is one of the undisputed leaders of an Atrisco Heritage program seeking to bounce back from a 1-8 campaign in 2019. He’ll have help from teammates Eddie Acosta (offers from Whittier, Clarke and Carthage) and Ruben Palma(offer from Concordia), both of whom have also received college offers.
Here is our Q&A with Chris Rios Chris Rios 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Atrisco Heritage | 2021 State NM :
Q: What motivated you to post that emotional tweet after the NMAA’s decision to move the high football season to the spring? It seems like it was well received on Twitter.
A: Football is more than a sport. For me and a lot of my friends I go to school with, football has saved many of my friends’ lives, whether from gangs and things like that. Football really means a lot to many of us. When you take away football, guys are missing the thing that keeps them in check and makes sure they’re going to class and doing the right things. Unfortunately, without football, many guys don’t want to go to school and have bad influences around them. It’s different when you grow up in a rougher neighborhood.
Q: What are you and your teammates doing right now to prepare for the spring season?
A: We have a brand new coaching staff. They’ve put in a brand new workout plan. Every day we’ve been working out in the morning. We have afternoon meetings three days per week. Being a team leader, I’m at every meeting. It can be rigorous at times, especially since we won’t play a game until March. But everybody seems more focused with the new coaching staff. Our guys seem a lot more motivated. I see us being contenders next season if we keep working.”
Q: Besides yourself, who are some of the players Atrisco Heritage will be relying upon this coming season?
A: We have some great young players that are going to be names to know over the next couple of years. Defensive end Matthew Raygoza is just a sophomore and he’s already 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. I work with him a lot to help mold him and help him with his recruiting to make sure he does everything right. We also have a good senior running back in Jaden Cowley who hasn’t played since his freshman year. He’s one of the best athletes on our team. We have two linemen with college offers in Eddie Acosta and Ruben Palma. We definitely have some players.
Q: How is your recruiting going? I know you have some offers.
A: I currently have nine offers and they’re all Division III. The recruiting process has been different for me because I’ve never gone to camps because we couldn’t afford it. Those camps get expensive. I went state-by-state and e-mailed every single coach in the country, sent them film and followed them on Twitter. That’s how my recruiting process kicked off. Now I’m helping other guys get connected with some coaches. Now it’s taken off. We have a pretty tight knit group. Once a guy gets an offer, we’re relaying it to the coaches so the future guys will benefit.
Q: Are you still hoping for a Division II or Division I offer prior to signing day?
A: Yes, I’m definitely still hopeful. With the season being in March and April, that has definitely hurt the recruiting process. I’ve been in contact with Division I and Division II schools. I’m just working through the process with them. Hopefully, I will eventually get a Division II or Division I offer. UNM has shown some interest. One of their coaches called me and said I could be a preferred walk-on candidate depending on how I play this season and how much weight I put on. I’ve also talked with Army. Any school willing to take a chance on me will be getting a very hard-working player.
Football is more than just a sport. It’s a brotherhood. The reason why me and a lot of my friends stayed out of trouble. Why we “Stayed in school* crazy to think I worked my whole to have my senior season token away from me. This hurts more than words. You dream of playing
— chris rios (@rios552) July 9, 2020
Officially invited to the Hawaii Tiki Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii! https://t.co/u3UT7gvQVr #HawaiiTikiBowl via @HawaiiTikiBowl
— chris rios (@rios552) May 11, 2020
Check out my junior year highlights 😁https://t.co/HGY1gYUXtQ
— chris rios (@rios552) November 25, 2019