Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó This was one prospect Georgia coach Mark Richt turned away for all the right reasons.
His son, Jon, was a rising quarterback prospect at Prince Avenue Christian School in Athens, Ga., who dreamed of starring for the Bulldogs. But armed with advice from his father, Jon selected Clemson, Georgia’s regional rival about an hour away.
“My dad was very excited when I decided to come to Clemson,” the 18-year-old recalled recently.
And why not? Jon was headed for a major program on scholarship, to be coached by friends the Richts trusted. Gone were the potential problems that come from coaching your quarterback son at one of the Southeastern Conference’s top schools.
“I felt like it was going to be tough, especially at the quarterback position, to have your son playing for you,” said the elder Richt, coach of the No. 1 team in the nation. “I didn’t want the pressure of trying to be unbiased because I’m not unbiased. I love the kid. I see the positives in him. I didn’t want to put the pressure on our staff that way, and I didn’t want my wife, who’s our water girl, to tell me who should start at quarterback.”
Mark Richt also believes college is a time when a teen strikes out on their own, outside their parents’ influence. “And it’s hard to do if you’re right there in that same town,” Richt said.
Still, it’s been an odd summer at the Richt household. Mark and wife Katharyn were accustomed to the hijinks of their four children ó there’s also 13-year-old David, 12-year-old Zach and 11-year-old Anya ó rattling around.
Father and oldest son would share a bond over football, Mark watching Jon’s high-school game tapes and offering tips and suggestions on Sundays.
“He’s always been the best dad in the world to me,” Jon said.
As he spoke about his son, Mark caught himself staring at photos of the boy from the day he was born, as a high school senior and in his Clemson uniform at practice this summer. “It does, as they say, happen fast,” Richt said.