Football wasn’t always a part of Allen NeSmith’s life, but once it was, it became everything.

“I realized my passion for the game,” NeSmith said. “My first time I ever got here and my first time I made a tackle.”

Nesmith started playing in 8th grade, but last season as a sophomore in high school got pulled up to the varsity team at McQuaid, a running back and linebacker. He won the Class AA sectionals and wants to do it again. But this time, much bigger.

“I want to go when a state run, which I’m going to do with my team, I’m going to play for my team,” he added. “It’s more than just a sectional title at McQuaid. Now, we have gone for back to back, and I think it’s more than just that now.”

NeSmith recognizes it’s important to balance that with academics.

“I think it’s very important to perform in the classroom,” he said. “I say that because you can’t play on the field without having good grades in class. And I strive to make my academics very important in front of sports.”

Smith lives up to his word. He has a 4.0 GPA and already has his mind set on studying biology at UCLA. It might seem like a large goal but not for him.

“I’m very independent and I believe I can go out there and show people what I’m made of and come back and start something that my family hasn’t had before, which is a dentist,” he continued. “I think I’m a very disciplined person. I’m going to finish what I start, and I think I’m just a dog in that aspect.”

Congrats to Allen NeSmith on being this week’s News 10 NBC Scholar Athlete of the Week!