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Fourth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Luke Gazzaniga, Santa Margarita tight end.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re unlikely to feel sympathy for 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end Luke Gazzaniga, a senior at Santa Margarita High who enjoys the idea of running over tacklers after catching a pass or sending an opponent crashing to the ground with a bone-crushing block.<\/p>\n
Except understand that he\u2019s the smallest brother in his family. The others are 6-7 and 6-5, so imagine the little brother in the front yard doing the Oklahoma drill, a legendary one-on-one football drill from years ago that tested toughness via collisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d literally just run at each other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some brothers play video games or collect baseball cards. The Gazzanigas were into seeing who would be the last one standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fun,\u201d Luke said. \u201cI was quick when I was a little kid. I wouldn\u2019t go down. I\u2019ve had to fight for myself. I had to find my way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is the Los Angeles Times\u2019 nine-part series on top returning high school football players for the 2026 season, plus preseason top 25 rankings.<\/p>\n
Their father, David, who played football at Dartmouth and became an orthopedic surgeon, welcomed the competition. If any of the boys came into the house before a game was over, Dad\u2019s response was, \u201cSuck it up and go back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe taught us how to be tough,\u201d Luke said.<\/p>\n
You can sense the enjoyment Luke has on a football field. After he catches a pass, he looks up and gets excited if there\u2019s a defender nearby.<\/p>\n
Trace Johnson to Luke Gazzaniga. 21-7 Santa Margarita. pic.twitter.com\/EoKuyisj2T<\/p>\n
\u201cI love seeing people there,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m letting them know if you\u2019re going to try to tackle me, it\u2019s going to hurt you more than me. I\u2019m glad someone thinks they can tackle me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski has been the player he\u2019s most admired, and Gazzaniga has been able to see pro players up close because his father worked as a physician with the Chargers. Luke got to hang out in the training room and on the field.<\/p>\n