Mustangs’ Gonzales, Rodriguez up for SI scholarship giveaway
A pair of Nixon-Smiley athletes remain in the Top 12 and moved into the second round of voting for a Sports Illustrated $25,000 scholarship giveaway.
Varsity running back Garet Gonzales is ranked sixth in the group, while quarterback Eric Rodriguez is ranked 12th in the group seeking to be named “Youth Athlete of the Year.” The winner will be featured in a 3BRAND ad in Sports Illustrated and take home a $25,000 scholarship. The contest is endorsed by NFL QB Russell Wilson, owner of 3BRAND, and is being used to help raise funds for V Foundation for Cancer Research and Why Not You Foundation.
Gonzales is being recognized as a “hard-working athlete. While football is his main focus, he also participates in varsity tennis, golf, baseball, and powerlifting.” According to a Q&A he did with the website, he loves the competition he gets to face and the life lessons he learns from sports.
He also said his football coach and athletic director, Paul Kirby, inspires him both on and off the field because “Coach Kirby teaches him many life skills as well as how to get to the next level of the sport since Coach Kirby himself played at the next level.”
Gonzales said he is proud of the time he started at running back and passed the single game rushing touchdown record before halftime as a freshman. Despite having a chance to add to his total, he told the coach to let the second-string upperclassmen behind him get some reps for the rest of the game in order to get them valuable experience as well.
Rodriguez “participates in various sports In football, his position is quarterback and he also does track and power lifting. He trains every day on being the best.”
People can vote once per day for free or pay a donation to make additional votes. Voting for Gonzales and Rodriguez can be found at https://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/garet-4ccf and https://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/eric-d171.
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