Editorβs note: The Star is counting down the 22 best high school football players in Southern Arizona.
Name: Gabe Levy
The rundown: Levy is a 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pound senior at Cienega High School.
Who he is: Ask any high school football coach whether they want players wrestling during the offseason, and thereβs a good chance most β if not all β will say yes.
Football players who wrestle typically learn hand techniques and build strength. Most are linemen or defensive players.
Cienega coach Pat Nugent couldnβt recall a running back ever wrestling before Levy, who was the state runner-up in his weight class.
βGabe is a beast. β¦ Heβs gotten bigger, stronger, faster and is just an absolute animal,β Nugent said. βHeβs going to run over you instead of around you. Heβs so strong and physical and thatβs his mentality. He breaks tackles and itβs tough to break him down.β
The elements of wrestling have improved Levyβs overall skillset as a running back.
βWrestling helps me a lot with balance, conditioning, teaching me to shrug off tackles and stabilize when I get hit after contact so I stay on my feet,β Levy said.
Levy started the 2019 season playing linebacker and running back before moving exclusively to offense. In 11 games, Levy rushed for 982 yards and seven touchdowns.
Levy said although he performed at a high level as a junior, his βbiggest weakness was not catching out of the backfield.β
During the offseason, Levy met with Cienega quarterback Ryan Swoger and other skill-position players to work on running routes and pass-catching.
The hard-nosed runner hopes to become a versatile weapon for the Bobcats and finally break 1,000 yards, which hasnβt been done by a Cienega running back since Francisco Dicochea in 2014.
βLast year was a decent season, we still need to work on some things, but I feel like this year will be a whole lot better,β Levy said. βI definitely couldβve rushed for over a 1,000 yards; I just needed to work on a couple things. β¦ Iβm just hoping I could rush for 1,000 yards.β
Proof heβs good: Levy was named the Starβs Player of the Week following his performance against Rincon/University on Sept. 20, 2019. Against the Rangers, Levy rushed for 145 yards and touchdowns on just seven carries. Levy currently holds scholarship offers from Washburn, Sioux Falls and the University of Mary.
Cienegaβs Gabe Levy (5) wrestles during the offseason, learning skills that help him run over β and not around β defenders.
He said it: βI donβt even know if we knew who he was as a freshman, and heβs just developed. We always looked at him as a wrestler-type kid, but in the last two years, heβs been one of our stars. β¦ Heβs got an opportunity to be a great player.β β Nugent.
