RGVSports.com Top 30 Football Player Countdown (No. 16-20) 

The 2024 high school football season is officially underway, with teams hitting the practice field across the Rio Grande Valley.

With Week 1 of the regular season looming, the RGVSports.com staff compiled a list of the top 30 returning RGV football players for the 2024 season.

Our list continues with two of the area’s top linebackers leading the Mission Veterans and PSJA North defenses, two breakout weapons primed for big seasons offensively at Donna High and PSJA Memorial and a receiver-turned-quarterback in Lyford.

Be sure to check back every Wednesday and Saturday as we announce more players from the list leading up to the reveal of the top five players in the 2024 RGVSports.com Football Tab on Aug. 28.

Donna High receiver Xavier Rodriguez scoring the game-winning touchdown against Edcouch-Elsa in a non-district game Friday at Bennie La Prade Stadium in Donna. (Andrew Cordero/Special to The Monitor)

No. 16: WR Xavier Rodriguez, sr., Donna High

2023 Stats: 73 receptions, 1,143 yards, seven touchdowns; 13 carries, 106 yards, one touchdown

Notes: Rodriguez is a big-play waiting to happen as the receiver possesses 4.4 40-speed and the ability to turn WR screens and deep balls into touchdowns. Donna is creative in the ways it schemes touches for Rodriguez, and the senior has shown a tendency to make the most of his opportunities.

Mission Veterans defender Aiden Uribe (23) reaches for the ball carrier in a non-district against Harlingen High at Tom Landry Stadium on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Mission. (Joel Martinez | jmartiez@themonitor.com)

No. 17: LB Aiden Uribe, sr., Mission Veterans

2023 Stats: 165 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception

Notes: Uribe is the latest of a lineage of standout linebackers in the middle of the Mission Veterans defense. He’s an instinctual player in finding the football and laying the hammer when he gets there. His toughness and leadership as a three-year letterman will be leaned upon to set the tone for the Patriots’ “Blue Dawg Defense.”

PSJA North’s Jesse Montez. Photo Courtesy Jesse Montez Max Preps.

No. 18: LB Jesse Montez, sr., PSJA North

2023 Stats: 114 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered, one interception

Notes: Montez is a tackling machine that flies to the ball from sideline to sideline. He’s racked up more than 100 total tackles each year with 343 stops across his first three seasons. Montez is a disruptive force that plays every snap full speed as a mainstay in PSJA North’s “Blackshirt Defense.”

No. 19 ATH Adrian Chavez, sr., Lyford

2023 Stats: 45 receptions, 858 yards, five TDs, 26 carries, 188 yards, 10 TDs, 43 total tackles, one interception

Notes: Chavez was a stud at receiver and safety last season, but he’ll make the transition to quarterback his senior year while still seeing some time defensively. The athleticism that made him one of the top pass catchers in the RGV and a lethal rusher will allow him to hurt defenses through the air and on the ground while leading the Bulldogs’ offense.

PSJA Memorial’s Emiliano Colunga poses at McAllen Memorial High School on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

No. 20 Emiliano Colunga, sr., PSJA Memorial

2023 Stats: 139 carries, 1,305 yards, 12 TDs

Notes: PSJA Memorial relied heavily on its rushing attack to move the ball, and Colunga was at the center of it. He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry and displayed the ability to turn any touch into six. He’ll be the primary ball-carrier again for the Wolverines and is set up for a big senior campaign.

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