Black Hills State University Athletics

HUDL HIGHLIGHTS

PREP: Another Arizona prep standout joins the Yellow Jackets at the linebacker position as Cardenas was a 4-year letterwinner, 4-year starter, and 2-year captain at Central High School for head coach Chris Barrett. He averaged 8.5 tackles per game and a tallied a school-record 15 tackles-for-loss his senior season, helping land his second consecutive First Team AIA 5A Metro All-Region (2023 and 2024) selection. A year prior in just five games during his junior season, Cardenas tallied 40 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, and two sacks. He helped lead the Bobcats to back-to-back titles in the AIA Class 5A Metro Region in 2022 and 2023, as the team combined for a 17-4, including a trip to the Arizona AIA Class 5A State Playoffs in 2022 when they went 9-2 for their best record since 2006. Jose is the son of Debby Tavizon Stanton, Tomas Stanton, and Jose Cardenas. He also has three siblings, Alexis, Santiago, and Abigail.