Freshman studs Devin Sanchez, Elijah Melendez shine
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Xavier Andrade,
- October 13, 2025
Ohio State's Devin Sanchez earns first start
If you’ve paid close attention to Our Esquina’s football coverage over the last three years, you know Ohio State’s Devin Sanchez and Auburn’s Elijah Melendez are superstars. Sanchez, a freshman from Houston’s North Shore High, was Our Esquina’s High School Latino Football Player of the Year in 2024 and 2023.
Melendez, a freshman from Kissimmee, Fla., made a good case for that honor last year. They are perhaps the best two Latino freshmen in college football this season.
As fate would have it, Sanchez and Melendez had what can be considered their breakout college performances on the same day. Devin Sanchez made the first start of his college career for No. 1 Ohio State, and he was ready.
Melendez is a key part of Auburn’s defense, and he had the best game of his career on Saturday. In a season defined by Latino stars on the offensive side, elite defenders Sanchez and Melendez are Our Esquina’s Latino co-Players of the Week for Week 7.
Career highs for Devin Sanchez, Elijah Melendez
Sanchez, a 6-foot-2, 198-pound defensive back, had a career-high five tackles (four solo) to help the Buckeyes beat Illinois 34-16. Melendez collected his first career sack in a 20-10 loss to Georgia.
The 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker finished with a career-high six tackles, doubling his previous career-high for tackles. Melendez recently earned Midseason Freshman All-American honors by On3.
Here’s how most of the other Latinos in college football performed in Week 7:
Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas had two catches for 28 yards in a 27-24 victory over Missouri. Sophomore linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez had five tackles (three solo) for the Tigers in the loss.
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Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar completed 16 of 25 pass attempts to beat Arkansas. He threw for 221 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 59 yards on five carries in the 34-31 victory. Safety Joenel Aguero had four tackles to help Georgia beat Auburn 20-10.
LSU kicker Damian Ramos made two field goals and two PATs to help LSU beat South Carolina 20-10.
Penn State receiver Trebor Pena had two catches for five yards in the 22-21 upset loss against Northwestern. UCLA receiver Rico Flores Jr. had two catches for 27 yards in the 38-13 victory over Michigan State.
KC Concepcion helps Aggies remain undefeated
Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion had a team-high four catches for 46 yards as the No. 4 Aggies improved to 6-0, 3-0 SEC. Freshman defensive lineman Marco Jones added one tackle over eight snaps for the Aggies in the 34-17 over Florida.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers made another major statement. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown with an interception in the 30-20 victory over Oregon. Mendoza also rushed for 31 yards on six carries.
Carlos Hernandez helped Wake Forest beat Oregon State 39-14. He had four punt returns for 50 yards. Hernandez also had two catches for 23 yards. Oregon State kicker Caleb Ojeda had one tackle in the loss.
Kavir Bains-Marquez had a game-high 13 tackles to help Pitt upset Florida State 34-31. FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos threw three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the loss. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 245 yards. Castellanos also ran for 12 yards on eight carries.
Notre Dame’s Gabriel Rubio had one tackle in a 36-7 win over NC State. Curly Ordonez had a team-high eight tackles and a sack for Temple in a 32-31 loss to Navy. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Gutierrez saw action for the Midshipmen in the victory. He made one pass attempt and rushed for -2 yards on two carries.
Jacob Rodriguez torments Kansas
Jacob Rodriguez helped Texas Tech crush Kansas 42-17. He had a game-high 14 tackles (six solo) with a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Colorado kicker Alejandro Mata hit a 29-yard field goal in the upset win over Iowa State.
Houston kicker Ethan Sanchez was perfect on his four field goal attempts, hitting a long of 48 yards. He also nailed three PATs in the 39-17 victory over Oklahoma State. Jacob Garza handled the long snapping duties for UH.
Kansas State safety Gunner Maldonado had four tackles in a 41-28 victory over TCU. Sophomore kicker Luis Rodriguez accounted for 11 points against TCU with two field goals and five PATs in the win.
Arizona State receiver Derek Eusebio had two catches for 12 yards in a 42-10 loss against Utah. Kicker Jesus Gomez made 1 of 2 field goal tries, hitting from 38 yards, for the Sun Devils in the loss.
Wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez helped James Madison improve to 5-1, catching four passes for 39 yards in a 24-14 win over Louisiana. UL Monroe quarterback Aidan Armenta threw for 176 yards completing 14 of 28 pass attempts with one touchdown and one interception in a 23-8 loss to Coastal Carolina.
UTSA’s David Amador II had two catches for eight yards in the 61-13 victory over Rice. Hector Chavez had one tackle to help Florida Atlantic beat UAB 53-33.
Jahsiah Galvan stars in defeat
Jahsiah Galvan had 10 tackles for Stanford in a 34-10 loss against SMU. Stanford’s Wilfredo Aybar added three tackles (one solo) in the loss.
Kicker Tyler Robles made field goals from 37 and 42 yards while also going 5 for 5 on extra point kicks for Texas State in a 48-41 loss to Troy. Kent State running back Gavin Garcia rushed for 71 yards on 11 carries. Freshman defensive back Joel Cordoba added two tackles for the Golden Flashes in a 42-6 rout over UMass.
Running back Carter Vargas’ 146 all-purpose yards led UC Davis to a 45-24 win over Northern Arizona. The sophomore rushed for 40 yards and had three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a kick for 55 yards in the win.
Colorado State linebacker Drew Rodriguez had two tackles in a 49-21 win over Fresno State. Brandon Ramirez rushed for 41 yards on seven carries in the Bulldogs’ loss.
Air Force kicker Jacob Medina went 6 for 6 in extra points and missed his only field goal attempt in a 51-48 loss to UNLV. Freshman running back Steve Chavez-Soto carried the ball 12 times for 25 yards in the Spartans’ 35-28 loss to Wyoming.
Defensive Tackle Gabriel Lopez had four tackles in New Mexico State’s 41-25 loss to Boise. San Diego State Gabriel Plascencia made three field goals and five extra points in a 44-10 win over Nevada.
Utah State defensive lineman Gabriel Iniguez Jr recorded two tackles including half a sack, cornerback Noah Flores had four tackles and sophomore quarterback Anthony Garcia threw a 30-yard touchdown pass in the Aggies’ 44-26 loss to Hawaii.
Xavier Andrade
Xavier Andrade, who played football at Luther College, graduated with degrees in Communications and Political Science. He previously worked in editorial and social media for Hola Cultura, a Latino publication in Washington, D.C. Andrade currently coaches football at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif.
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