H-S Athlete of the Week: Brandon Meier, California
NAME: Brandon Meier
GRADE: Sophomore
SCHOOL: California
SPORT: Football
MEIER鈥橲 WEEK: It was a moment he鈥檇 been dreaming of for a long time: being the starting quarterback for the California football team. Meier made the most of his first impression by accounting for six touchdowns in the Trojans鈥� 40-6 win over Mohawk.
Meier threw four touchdown passes and rushed for two more.
鈥淲ithout my team I wouldn鈥檛 be able to do this, but I will say it was surreal feeling showing out for my hometown in my first start, especially against a good opponent in Mohawk that won a playoff game last year,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淚t was a surreal feeling. I worked my tail off this entire offseason, so I knew what I was capable of coming into our first game.鈥�
Meier finished 11 of 15 passing for 266 yards and rushed for 91 yards on eight carries.
He connected with Chase Shemansky for two touchdowns of 16 and 10 yards. Weston Monticelli hauled in an 18-yard touchdown and Meier hit Alan Dennis for a 68-yard score.
Meier admitted there were some nerves going into his first varsity start, even if his performance showed little signs of that being the case.
鈥淚f somebody says they aren鈥檛 nervous before their first varsity start, they鈥檙e probably lying,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淚 would say I really settled in after I hit my first deep pass to Weston Monticelli. After I threw him that ball, I knew it was going to be a big night. After that we really started connecting on offense and it was pretty smooth from there.鈥�
Meier is also a starting safety for the Trojans and held that role as a freshman. He recorded an interception against Mohawk. Playing both a quarterback and defensive back gives Meier a unique perspective on each position.
鈥淚t allows me to stay versatile and keep a high football IQ on both sides of the ball,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淜nowing where the defenders will be as a safety and what the quarterback is going to do reading defenses with their eyes. It helps a lot.鈥�
FORMER WATERBOY: It wasn鈥檛 that long ago that Meier was a waterboy for the California football team. He held that role during his seventh and eight grade years. It provided him with an up-close look of what it鈥檚 like being on a varsity sidelines.
鈥淭he coaches usually pick four or five kids from the middle school team to help out with the high school team,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淚t allows you to get familiar with the players, the team and the different play schemes and things like that.鈥�
TB12: Meier has wanted to play football for as long as he can remember and growing up, he idolized former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The six-time Super Bowl champion is a good player to learn from.
鈥淚 always tried to emulate (Brady) when I was little,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淗e made me fall in love with football.鈥�
When it comes to playing safety, Meier enjoys a newer player, former Ohio State standout and Dallas Cowboys rookie Caleb Downs.
鈥淚 like the way he works in run support and he鈥檚 versatile,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淗e does well in run support and coverage.鈥�
SIMPLE MATH: While Meier likes adding numbers to the scoreboard on Friday nights, he also enjoys doing so in the classroom.
Meier鈥檚 favorite school subject is math.
鈥淚t comes pretty easy to me,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been pretty good with numbers.鈥�
Compiled by Jerin Steele