Our first boys' honoree to kick off the 2009-10 school year is an Orange County running back whose prowess on the field and in the classroom will have him working on The Farm next fall.  

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com 

(Note: For our 2009-2010 athlete of the week feature, we are looking for those student-athletes who had a standout performance in their sport from the previous week, but we also are looking for a balance between athletic achievement, academic work in the classroom, community service or overcoming adversity. Send nominations to mark@studentsports.com. Make sure you follow us at twitter.com/calhisports as we'll do our best to give you live updates from the big games we attend all season long. You can also follow us on Facebook. Please join our Facebook group by CLICKING HERE )

	Anthony Wilkerson

Although it may put a damper on his goal of trying to match the numbers of a former Tustin High running back who went on to UCLA and the NFL, the slightly pulled hamstring suffered in the late going against neighboring Foothill of Santa Ana in a 35-12 home victory last Friday night didn't stop Anthony Wilkerson from recording his second consecutive 300-yard rushing performance to open the season.

"It's not serious and he didn't even notice it during the game,” said Tustin coach Myron Miller about his star senior who followed up an opening game 354-yard, six TD performance in a 55-28 win over Kennedy of La Palma with 317 yards and five trips to paydirt in the Foothill triumph.
 
"It's a preseason game this Friday, and although he's had treatments, he hasn't been able to practice. Even though he'd like to play, there's too much at risk,” continued Miller, a Southern California coaching fixture since his debut at Compton High in 1968 who is now in his 15th season at Tustin and sixth year also serving as Athletic Director.
 
"I tried to go (in practice) on Wednesday but it flared up. I'm having another treatment today and although I probably can't play, my goal is to still rush for 3,000 yards this season if I can stay healthy,” Wilkerson told CalHiSports.com in an early Thursday morning interview, the day before the Tillers are set to play Orange County power Lutheran of Orange.

Even without the game against the Lancers, should he keep up anywhere near the torrid pace he's started out with, Wilkerson still has a chance of rushing for over 2,500 yards and putting his name in the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Record Book & Almanac if the Tillers go as deep into the playoffs as last year.
 
Last season, Tustin finished 9-5 after losing 26-14 to La Habra in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division championship game at Angel Stadium. Wilkerson, who was an all-state underclass second team selection, led the team in rushing with 2,299 yards and 32 TDs on 271 carries. The Co-MVP of the Century League had 86 carries for 843 yards and 13 TDs in four playoff games to help Tustin reach the final. 
 
If he can make the record book, Wilkerson will join fellow Tillers' running back DeShaun Foster, who earned CalHISports.com Mr. Foobtall honors during the 1997 season after rushing for 3,398 yards.

With respect to there being a lot at stake? What more could there be than a full ride to Stanford for the bright, articulate young man who takes two honors courses and carries a 4.0 GPA.
 
"One of the things that's helped Anthony set high goals is his brother's success and the fact we've had six kids go on to the pros,” continued Miller, who also teaches weight training and runs the school's work experience program.
 
Anthony's brother Ricky Wilkerson also played football at Tustin, earning a scholarship to Fresno State before a knee injury ended his football career.
 
As for the five besides Foster from Tustin who have gone on to play professionally, there's Sam Baker, Frostee Rucker, Matt McCoy and Chris Chester.
 
Not only is Wilkerson a star athlete and great student, but he was previously involved in student-body government as president of the sophomore class, and last year served on the associated student body council. This year he's taking a break.
 
"There's just too much going on,” remarked Wilkerson.
 
"He's a special kind of kid. Very popular around campus,” said Miller with pride in his voice. "Thank you for choosing him. It's a real honor for our school and we're real proud of Anthony. He's done all the right things to give himself the right opportunity out of high school.”
 
Wilkerson is not just a football player. The guard/forward was All-Century League in basketball last season an also runs track. He's competed at the varsity level in all three sports since he was a freshman.
 
Anthony is also an accomplished lifter. According to Miller, the 5-11, 213-pounder has done a 350-pound bench press and a 345-pound clean-and-jerk. 
 
Very few top-notch student-athletes can produce at the level Wilkerson has without strong support from their family and teammates, and Anthony is no different.
 
"He comes from a good, well-educated family. His mother has kept on him about his studies from the very beginning,” remarked Miller.
 
"She's stayed on me the whole time,” chuckled Wilkerson with an emphasis on "whole time.”
 
His mother is Melanie Wilkerson; a cheerleader in high school who played multi-sports, and according to Anthony, competed at the Junior Olympics in the high jump. She currently works for SDC Technologies in a customer service capacity.
 
Anthony's father, William Wilkerson, is an art teacher who is originally from Atlanta.
 
Besides Ricky, there are two other older siblings living in Atlanta, 23-year-old sister Quinn, and 28-year-old brother Marcus, described by Anthony as, "a computer genius but not an athlete.”
 
Team goals and teammates are also important to Wilkerson.
 
"There are five of us on the team that are best friends,” remarked Anthony.
 
Besides himself, there is 6-0, 220-pound fullback Wade Minshew, described by Anthony as his best friend. There other three are Andrew "AJ” Rafter, Scotty Hungerford and quarterback Nick Demaio.
 
"We hang out at each other's places and do things like play USC (the video game).”
 
Sounds a little strange for a Stanford guy to play any USC game except one that's on the field of combat, but Wilkerson might as well get used to it. He'll see the Trojans quite a few times once he moves on to The Farm next fall. "It's UFC video game," said Wilkerson, correcting the video-game lame writer.

Stanford offered Wilkerson a scholarship late last year, but it wasn't until after the Nike Camp at USC that he made the commitment.
 
"Stanford offered me at the end of December, but I wanted to go to the Nike Camp to see how I stacked up,” said Wilkerson, who verballed shortly after the camp.
 
Besides a dream of playing in the pros, Wilkerson has a pretty astute approach when choosing a field of study in Palo Alto that could lead to a non-football career.
 
"I'm going to study environmental science and sports medicine,” he said. "I like environmental stuff and new energy sources. In the future there will be a lot of money in that field.”
 
Before he leaves for parts north next year, there's some unfinished business in the Century League and CIFSS Southwest Division.
 
"We want a single league championship and a good run in the playoffs, said Wilkerson matter-of-factly about a team that shared the league title last year at 4-1 with Canyon of Anaheim and El Dorado of Placentia.
 
"We really think we can make it all the way this year and get a ring.”
 
"Being honored by ESPN RISE makes me feel great. After putting in so much hard work, an award like this makes it feel likes it's beginning to pay off.”
 
Like every winner before him, Wilkerson had some solid advice for up-and-comers that dream of getting where he has gotten.
 
"Match the work you are putting in on the field, and be that much more dedicated off the field and you'll go somewhere.”
 
As the cell phone interview ended with Wilkerson walking to his first class on the Tustin campus, a voice in the background could be overheard teasing Anthony.
 
"Are you talking to your agent? You can get in trouble for that.”
 
"No, it's a reporter for ESPN RISE,” he answered.
 
"A reporter for ESPN RISE,” said the background voice in a tone of some astonishment. "You've got to be kidding me!”
 
It's no joke. Stanford-bound Anthony Wilkerson, with a 4.0 GPA and a 335.5 yard and 5.5 TD per game average, is the inaugural ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Boys State Athlete of the Week for the 2009-10 school year.