Sebastian Castro, Xavier Restrepo, Kevin Concepcion lead Latinos in D1 Football
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José de Jesus Ortiz, Founder & Editor in Chief
- August 30, 2024
Kevin Concepcion starts 2024 with three touchdowns
Iowa’s Sebastian Castro is arguably the best nickel back in college football. Miami’s Damien Martinez is one of the best running backs in America. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion may very well compete for a Heisman Trophy before he’s done at North Carolina State.
There’s plenty of Latino talent in Division I college football this year, especially in the ACC. Miami’s Xavier Restrepo is one of the best wide receivers in college football. Louisville’s Michael Gonzalez is a stud offensive lineman.
Restrepo, Gonzalez and Concepcion are just three of four Latinos who earned first team spots on the All-ACC preseason football team. Miami kicker Andres Borregales is the other.
Sebastian Castro, one tough Mexican
Here’s list of 24 top Latino players in Division I football in 2024.
Sebastian Castro could have declared for the draft after an impressive season in 2023. At 5-foot-11, the graduate student from Chicago plays the cash position at Iowa.
After earning Pro Football Focus first-team All-America honors last season, he was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award, and Chuck Bednarik Award watch lists this year. He earned one Big Ten Player of the Week honor last season.
Castro isn’t putting too much stock into the preseason hype.
“Last year all that hype was new,” Castro told Iowa beat writers recently. “Now I just rely on what I usually rely on and just focus on the days. I really don’t care about the hype. It’s just (about) playing the game because I could lose or I could give up a touchdown or give up three touchdowns the next day.
“And everybody’s probably going to be bashing me like, ‘Oh well, the hype’s not real.’ Some people are going to say what they want to say. I’m just playing the game for me, my teammates, family and, at the end, for myself because I love playing the game. I’m just having fun out there really.”
Sebastian Castro should be a key to the Hawkeyes’ defense in his sixth season in Iowa City.
KC is legit
North Carolina State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year, set several school records last season as a true freshman. He is off to a great start this season too.
Concepcion had three touchdown catches while making nine receptions for 121 receiving yards Thursday night against West Carolina.
Concepcion led all FBS freshmen in receptions (64) and receiving yards (767). He was also the first freshman in NC State history to post two 100-plus yard receiving games and eight touchdown catches in a season.
Louisville offensive lineman Michael Gonzalez was a first team preseason All-ACC selection after starting 13 games at left guard as a junior last season.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder from Indian Trail, N.C., had 31 pancake blocks last season. With Gonzalez clearing holes, the Cardinals rushed for 178.5 yards per game with 31 rushing touchdowns.
Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona Jr. is another star. He will open a lot of holes for the Razorbacks this year.
Big time transfer
Miami running back Damien Martinez has been one of the best running backs in college football the last two years. The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Lewisville, Texas, was an All-Pac 12 First-Team pick as a freshman and sophomore at Oregon State before transferring to Miami.
He rushed for 2,167 yards on 355 carries over the last two seasons. Martinez had six games with at least 100 yards rushing each of the last two seasons.
He was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award in 2023. Martinez will surely make a run at the award this season if he stays healthy.
Miami kicker Andres Borregales, a First Team preseason All-ACC selection, put in another impressive performance last year. The 5-foot-11 Florida native served as Miami’s primary placekicker for the third straight year, earning First-Team All-ACC honors.
He was 22-for-26 on field goal attempts and 44-for-45 on extra points attempts. Borregales also made 8 of 11 field goals from over 40 yards and 4 of 6 on attempts of 50 yards or longer.
Xavier Restrepo shines
Miami wide receiver Xavier Restrepo put on an outstanding performance last year, starting all 13 games and earning All-ACC first-team honors.
He made 85 catches for 1,092 receiving yards with six touchdowns. He is a preseason All-ACC selection.
Penn State’s Tony Rojas has drawn raves. The sophomore is being billed as the next great linebacker in Penn State’s rich history of excellent linebackers.
Georgia defensive back Joenel Aguero has been fighting for a starting spot with the 2023 SEC runners-up.
Aguero played in 13 games as a true freshman last season, making seven tackles. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder from Lynn, Mass., also blocked a punt on the road against Florida last season.
Record-setting QB Thomas Castellanos
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos made school history last season as the first player to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 in the same season.
After transferring from UCF, he passed for 2,248 yards and rushed for 1,123 yards over 13 games (12 as a starter) as a sophomore.
Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the 2023 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. He also earned a spot on the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Mendoza completed 153-of-243 passes for 1,708 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had 48 carries for 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
App State senior quarterback Joey Aguilar is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He was named to the preseason Maxwell Award list.
Aguilar ranked fifth in the nation last season with 33 touchdown passes. He also set App State single-season records with 3,757 passing yards and 4,002 yards of total offense. No other returning quarterback in college football threw for at least 33 passes or 3,700 yards last season.
From South Bend to Westwood
UCLA sophomore receiver Rico Flores Jr. had 27 catches for 392 yards and one touchdown as a true freshman last season at Notre Dame. He appeared in 12 games with the Fighting Irish.
Flores was named a starter with the Bruins. He had a career-high 102 receiving yards on a career-high eight catches last Nov. 18 against Wake Forest.
Washington State receiver Carlos Hernandez might be ready for a breakout sophomore season. He averaged 10.8 yards per catch last season as a freshman. The 6-foot, 189-pounder from Alhambra, Calif., played in all 12 games last year. He made 24 catches for 258 yards.
Oklahoma State quarterback Garret Rangel appeared in five games for the Cowboys last year. The Texas gunslinger has a strong arm. He has competed for the starting job during fall camp.
Rangel completed 17 of 32 passing attempts for 172 yards and two touchdowns as a redshirt freshman last year. He also threw for 711 yards and five touchdowns over four games as a true freshman.
Rangel has also excelled in the classroom, receiving academic recognition for his first two years. He also earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.
Captain Pavia
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, the 2023 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, has made a great impression since transferring to Vanderbilt after two seasons at New Mexico State.
The 6-foot, 207-pounder from Albuquerque, N.M., was named a captain at Vanderbilt. Pavia threw for 2,973 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the Aggies to 10 victories. He also rushed for 923 yards and seven rushing touchdowns last season.
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Pavia will be remembered at New Mexico State for generations after leading the Aggies over Auburn last season. After guiding the Aggies to their first victory against an SEC team, Pavia moved to the SEC as a graduate transfer.
Sebastian Castro isn’t the only star Mexican American defensive back this season. Stanford defensive back Jshawn Frausto-Ramos had a solid freshman season last year for the Cardinal. He made 18 tackles over 12 games. The St. John Bosco product also forced one fumble.
More Latino excellence at Miami
Miami linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr. made his presence felt last year on special teams for the Hurricanes as a true freshman. He had six tackles, including half a sack.
Aguirre is listed as the backup middle linebacker on the Hurricanes’ first depth chart of the season. The 6-foot-2, 233-pounder from Georgia is likely to make a big impact beyond special teams for Miami.
Tulane senior linebacker Jesus Machado had an impressive 98 tackles with one interception last year in his fourth year. He returned to Tulane for his COVID season.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior from Miami has made 150 tackles over four seasons with the Mean Green.
Notre Dame’s defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio was expected to break through for the Irish this season, but he suffered a setback when he fractured his foot on July 31.
He underwent surgery on Aug. 1. The Irish announced that he is expected back this season. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder from St. Louis made 11 tackles over nine games last season. Rubio also had 17 tackles, four for a loss, in 2022.
‘Mata don’t miss’
Colorado kicker Alejandro Mata, a Jackson State transfer, enters his second season at Colorado. He made 10 of 12 field goals last season, including a game-winning 43-yard field goal against Arizona State.
With Colorado coach Deion Sanders declaring, “Mata don’t miss” last year, Mata became a viral sensation for the second time in as many years playing for Coach Prime.
Oregon freshman defensive back Peyton Woodyard, who graduated early from perennial power St. John Bosco to enroll at Alabama in the spring, transferred to Oregon after Nick Saban retired.
Woodyard made a good impression this summer with the Ducks. He’ll fight for playing time as a field safety as a freshman.
Penn State wide receiver Peter Gonzalez was making a good impression until he suffered what was described as a long-term injury by coach James Franklin.
West Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales opened his junior season with a strong showing against NC State. He passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns while completing 22 of 35 attempts. He also rushed for 75 yards on six carries highlighted by a 50-yard scamper.
José de Jesus Ortiz
Founder & Editor in Chief
Award-winning writer José de Jesus Ortiz, a former lead sports columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has covered Major League Baseball since 1997 in Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, New York and Houston. He was the first Latino to serve as president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
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