Central-Fresno's Brandon Smith is SBLive's Northern California Athlete of the Week (9/5/2024)

Smith intercepted a pass and rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns

Central running back Brandon Smith is one of the state's top junior recruits. He's also excellent cornerback. / Photo: Bobby Medellin

Brandon Smith, 3-star Central (Fresno) ATH prospect, continues to ball out on both sides of the ball.

And the fans continue to show him love.

Just last month, fans voted him the top running back in the CIF-Central Section after he totaled 996 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023. He was also a standout at cornerback with 88 tackles, seven passes defensed, and 2.5 sacks.

Now, Smith is SBLive's first Southern California Athlete of the Week of the season. He got 84-percent of votes for Week Zero for leading the Grizzlies to a 40-0 thrashing of Justin Garza on Aug. 23. Smith turned 13 carries into 187 yards and three touchdowns, had two catches for 10 yards, and caught a pick that he returned nine yards, putting him over 200 all-purpose yards.

247Sports ranks Smith as the No. 64 prospect in California in the Class of 2026. He has offers from Colorado State, Fresno State, Washington State, Nevada, San Diego State, and Montana State.

Central followed up the Garza victory with another statement win, routing Bettye Davis East Anchorage (AK) 49-21. On Friday, it hosts Turlock in a rematch of a game it won 21-18 a year ago.

Meet the rest of the candidates:

Brison Abbott, a senior running back at Bakersfield, rushed 13 times for 146 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-0 win over Edison. 

Dylan Burke, a senior quarterback at Rodriguez, completed 9 of 12 passes for 226 yards and six touchdowns in a 53-0 win over Fremont-Oakland. Three of them went to Jermaine Missouri who had four catches overall for 153 yards. 

Laten Butler, a junior at Mariposa County, had six catches for 177 yards and four touchdowns in a wild 42-40 loss to Yosemite. 

Lono Chouteau (Inderkum) had seven catches for 161 yards and a touchdowns in a 27-21 win over Monterey Trail. 

Cole Davis, a quarterback at Pleasant Grove, completed 18 of 24 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-0 win over River City. 

Jelani Dippel, a sophomore QB at top-ranked Central, completed 20 of 26 for 293 yards and two touchdowns in his varsity debut, a 40-0 win over Garza. 

Kaleb Edwards (Oak Ridge), a 5-star senior tight end, had eight catches for 153 yards and a touchdowns in a 28-14 loss to Frontier-Bakersfield. 

Robert Evans, a receiver and running back at Rosamond, rushed 19 times for 154 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-6 win over Littlerock. 

Tyler Franklin passed for 222 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, leading Bullard to a 35-0 win over Golden Valley. 

Andrew Garcia, of Boron, rushed 14 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-28 win over Bishop Montgomery. 

Daniel Gomez, of Hanford, accounted for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-29 win over Kennedy. 

Joaquin Graves-Mercado, Oak Ridge, threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 loss to Frontier-Bakersfield. 

Will Green, a senior receiver at Vista del Lago, had seven catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-27 win over Laguna Creek. 

CJ Jones, a wide receiver at Sunnyside, had eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a 54-27 win over Madera. 

Nikko Juarez (Manteca) rushed 17 times for 235 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-9 win over Elk Grove.  

Brandon Lambert, Grant, scored on touchdown runs of 33, 10 and 7 yards leading the Pacers to a 28-7 win over Edison. 

Aidan Lopez (Casa Roble) threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-8 loss to Placer

Ryder Lyons, Folsom: The junior 5-star quarterback accounted for 265 yards and three touchdowns in a 63-20 win over Long Beach Poly. 

Jackson McPeak (River Valley) accounted for 452 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-31 win over McClatchy to end a 22-game win streak. McPeak carried 19 times for 277 yards and five touchdowns and added 185 yards passing and another score. 

Max Medina, a QB at Patterson, completed 22 of 24 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-21 win over Merced. 

Jayden Najera, of Golden West, completed 22 of 33 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-37 double-overtime loss to Arroyo Grande. 

Dvaughn Norwood, a sophomore at Oakmont, rushed 14 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-13 win over Bella Vista to snap a 13-game losing streak over two previous seasons. 

Kean Saing, of Johansen, rushed 17 times for 201 yards and four touchdowns, in a 37-0 win over Modesto. 

Enrique Segura, a middle linebacker for Redwood, had 16 tackles in a 31-21 loss to Centennial. 

Brandon Smith, a junior at Central, rushed 13 times for 187 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-0 win over Garza. 

Noah Tasi, of Coalinga, threw for 229 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions in a 49-0 win over Caruthers. 

Dylan Teixeira, a wide receiver at Coalinga, had five catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-0 win over Caruthers. 

Tanner Wilson, a quarterback and free safety at Sunnyside, had quite the all-around game during a 54-27 win over Madera, completing 21 of 25 for 277 yards and three touchdowns, rushing nine times for 114 yards and adding 20 tackles on defense.