Samuel Dalton is a journalism student at Arizona State's Cronkite School assigned to cover Westwood High School.

Football has played an integral role in Giordan Hanks’ life from the very beginning.

He first picked up the sport at the age of 4, trying to follow in the footsteps of his older brother. The young athlete moved around the field in his early days, getting an opportunity to play every position on both sides of the ball.

There is no way to tell the story of Hanks without football. While it is common for children to grow up around sports, football was everything for him from as early as when he was only 9 years old.

“The light switch was on,” Hanks’ father, Josh Waite, said in reference to the seriousness that Hanks was taking the sport at that age.

His obsession with football was unusual.

And with that, Hanks attributes his success to his understanding of the game. As the senior finds himself at the head of the offense for the Warriors, he calls back on the years of play that were outside of the quarterback position.

“It allowed me to be a better quarterback and be a better leader,” Hanks said. “It allowed me to pick apart defenses.”

Hanks has shown a commitment to understanding football from multiple perspectives. Watching film plays a large role in his day-to-day life. This type of dedicated preparation allows for Hanks to stand out in the competitive landscape of high school football.

“One of my favorite kids I've ever coached ... in 32 years of coaching,” Hanks’ freshman football coach at Mountain View High School, Bill Roberts, said. “He was always like another coach on the field.”

Although his high school career started at Mountain View, Hanks has found a home at Westwood. In his first season at Westwood, he received first team all region honors at the quarterback position.

The dual-threat athlete lit up the stat sheet again in his senior year as he ranked third in the 6A division in rushing yards among all positions and was tied for third in rushing touchdowns among 6A quarterbacks with nine as of Oct. 12.

Outside of the sport, Hanks excels.

He is currently on pace to complete his goal of obtaining straight “A’s” in his senior year and is a part of “Team Counsel,” which is a group of the school’s athletes who meet to discuss fundraising and ways to improve all sports. He is also a man of faith who actively participates in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There is no summer vacation for Hanks.

His time is used as an opportunity to advance his abilities as a quarterback as he makes his push for the next level. The summer before his first season at Westwood was a busy one.

“We probably hit 20 camps that summer,” Waite said.

Hanks is currently uncommitted, but he is talking with several universities. Recruiting site 247sports.com is reporting that he is receiving interest from several Ivy league schools in Penn, Princeton and Yale, as well as soon-to-be Big 12 member Arizona State.