2006 Tucson Citizen Student-Athlete winner: Runaway winner

Sunnyside High School's Michael Smith, the city's top rusher in football and a standout sprinter, has a 3.9 GPA

MICHAEL CACCAMISE
Tucson Citizen

 Michael Smith has never been one to shy away from getting his hands dirty by way of some old-fashion hard work.

Whether in the classroom or out on the field, the Sunnyside High School senior just keeps at it until he gets it right.

"I'm focused on succeeding in everything I do," Smith said. "I expect more out of me than a lot of the other kids do. I focus on improvement every day. If I don't improve, I just keep working on it until I can improve it."

Smith has been named the 2006 Tucson Citizen Student-Athlete of the Year. The award - now in its 50th year - has been handed out annually to a high school senior who stands out in athletics, community activity and academics.

At graduation May 25, Smith will receive a plaque and a $500 check toward his college education from the Tucson Citizen.

"He's a great kid. He's the type of kid where just being around him is fun, whether you are a coach or kid," said Sunnyside football coach Richard Sanchez, whose son, Philo Sanchez, won the award in 2002.

Smith is 20th in his class at Sunnyside with a 3.9 GPA. He was the city rushing leader in football in 2005 with 1,982 yards while scoring 24 touchdowns, and he was the second leg of the 4x100 meter relay team that won the Class 5A Division II state championship Saturday. He also was the 5A South regional champion in the 100.

He plans to attend and play football at Eastern Arizona College next year. His long-term goal is to become a high school math teacher and to coach on the gridiron.

"I love math," Smith said. "I'm just good at it. It comes easy to me. That's the only thing I never had to work at. I never have to worry about my grade in math."

Sunnyside High School's Michael Smith was the leading rusher in Tucson in the 2005 football season

RENEE BRACAMONTE / Tucson Citizen

But with hard work, success has come in the other subjects. And other awards have followed. Smith has earned:

● A National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Scholar/Athlete Scholarship

● Honor Roll during every high school semester

● Three Arizona Interscholastic Association Scholar/Athlete Awards

● Special recognition awards in math, English, science and world history

● Both football and academic scholarships to Pima Community College and a scholarship to Eastern Arizona College

● An Arizona State University Award for Academic Excellence and the University of Arizona Wildcat Excellence Award

● First-team all southern-Arizona selection by the Tucson Citizen and second-team 5A all-state by The Arizona Republic for football and all-state honorable mention by The Republic for track.

Smith also has his hand in the community. He's been the president and secretary of the Sunnyside Football Club, a member of the African American Club, and a four-year member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He's also been a representative for two years to Drexel Elementary for the Southern Arizona Jump for Heart and has been a member of the football team's "Blue Devil Buddies," mentoring and reading to elementary and middle school students.

"The football players go to elementary schools and read to kids," said Smith, who also helps out coaching youth football teams when he has the chance. "We give them autographs. It seems like we're in the NFL to them. They're all happy. I enjoy it. I like working with kids."

That work ethic - which Smith attributes to the way he was raised - is something he came into high school with.

Sanchez recalls a story from Smith's freshman year, where students had to take as much of a standardized test as they could in an allotted time. Smith's teacher told Sanchez that the students are always told they could come back later and finish the test if they wanted to.

Smith was the first student the teacher ever had return to finish it.

In football, Smith doesn't have the size of his older (and bigger) brother Xavier "X" Smith, now playing running back at the University of Arizona. But he puts a lot into his 5-foot-8 frame.

"He had a great year this year. It's hard to compare them. 'X' was 'X.' Mike has a lot of heart. He has a big heart," Sanchez said. "He's worked his butt off. He runs the ball extremely hard. He has good vision. Mike, if you put the ball in his hands, could either run you over - he's a strong kid - or run away from you."

Smith has three varsity letters in both football and track and is a constant presence in the school's weight room. He was a member of Sunnyside's 2003 4A state championship football team, but a knee injury and surgery derailed what could have been a strong junior effort the next year.

He doesn't plan to run track in college, but says he would "run track if my coach asks me." His participation in high school track was to help improve his speed, he says.

"He's a very competitive kid," Sanchez said. "Man, I'm going to miss him. Other than his athletic skills, he's just a great kid to be around. His parents and his grandma have done a great job of raising him. He's really grounded."

Smith - who answers questions with a "yes, sir" or "no, sir" - has stayed humble with all the accolades.

"I was always a good student, but not the best at everything," he said. "But I would work at it. If I know I'm not good at it, I work more at it. Never the worst, never the best."

Michael Smith's essay: Father has laid the blueprint to be successful