The article below originally appeared in the Burlingame Patch and is being reprinted with permission.

This week’s Athlete of the Week is Brandon Francesconi, a College of San Mateo second year football player from the Burlingame High School class of 2009.

Francesconi is an outside linebacker for the Bulldogs, and has made a name for himself, receiving high honors from the league for his second year of play.

“Brandon was awarded by All Nor Cal Conference honors by the coaches in our league,” said his coach Brett Pollack. “Since our league is the toughest in Northern California, this is quite an accomplishment.”

Coach Pollack joined the coaching staff at CSM in 1994 and has seen a lot of talent come through. He knows what it takes to succeed both on and off the field, and he said Francesconi has those qualities in excess.

“Brandon has a very good work ethic,” Pollack said. “Brandon’s success both on and off the field is due to his maturity, focus, discipline, and commitment to developing himself.  I look forward to seeing Brandon continue to do good things in the future.”

MM: How did football become such a big part of your life?

BF: Growing up in Burlingame my best friend and I lived on the same block and played football together all the time. Once we got to high school, we decided to try out and give it a shot, and we loved it. The first team I had played on was at BHS.

MM: Before high school, were you involved in other sports?

BF: I was playing baseball, soccer. I had played soccer since I could walk. All of that dropped off and football took over.

MM: What about football do you love?

BF: I love the family atmosphere. You get to know a lot of people, and they become my family. I love being able to work as part of a team. Also, hitting people repeatedly is kind of fun too.

MM: Which season was your best and why?

BF: My senior season was the best. I made First Team All Conference for outside linebacker and First Team All County for the tight end position. I had some good catches. I also did well in the classroom, I finished with a 3.5 GPA. I was able to easily balance focus on school and football.

MM: How do you compare playing at the high school level to playing at the junior college level?

BF: Size and speed are different. In high school, you’ll maybe see a six foot, 200 pound lineman, and up here [at CSM] you’ll see linemen that are six-foot-six-inches and 300 pounds. Everyone is so much faster because the athletes are in such better shape. They work so much harder.

MM: What’s the work load like now versus when you were in high school?

BF: Off season, I’ll usually have a workout from 6 to 8 a.m. Then we’ll practice again from 4 to 8. During the season we have workouts at 9 a.m. Class from 10to 1, and then practice from 2:45 to 6. So, yes, it’s quite a bit more than high school.

MM: Which schools have been your toughest competitors these past two seasons?

BF: Our entire conference is hard. We’re in the toughest conference in Northern California. City College in San Francisco is a great team. They’re going to state finals. Foothill and Laney College are good teams. We handled all of these games very well; they were tough competitors.

MM: What would you say the team’s strengths are?

BF: Running the football and stopping the run. We’ve had games where we’ve rushed for 465 yards, and we’ve had games where we’ve only allowed 100 rushing yards. We’re great on both sides of the ball. Nick France, Jimmy Morris, D.J. McDonough come up big when we need them to. Our corners and safety’s are really young, but they’ll be in great shape for next year;  Dwayne Simpson, Ron Fields, Mike Wallace.

MM: What aspect of the team do you think needs the most work?

BF: Our secondary. We got beat deep a lot this year. We need to communicate better.

MM: Going forward, what are your plans?

BF: I don’t have any offers yet, but I’m talking to a few schools: University of Nevada and Idaho, San Jose State. Coach just finished my highlights video and is sending it out to all the Division I program. He think I can play on that level. Hopefully you’ll see me on TV soon.

MM: Tell me how your BHS coaches and CSM coaches helped prepare you for Division One Ball.

BF: The biggest thing was just the work ethic starting in high school. Coach Pappas and Coach Philipopoulos taught me all about work ethic. They taught me never to give up, and that what you put in is what you get out. That carried over to CSM. No talking back, if you talk back to a coach at CSM, you’re off the team. Instructors push you really hard in the classroom, and our coaches understand that education is just as important.