College football: Sons follow fathers to the path toward Linfield
By Nick Daschel, Special to The Oregonian, Nov 28, 2012
Football teams often refer to themselves as family, even if most of the bonds are just friendships.
At Linfield, though, there's something to the family talk. The apple doesn't fall far from Maxwell Field, as at least nine players on the Wildcats' roster have fathers who participated in Linfield athletics.
Most sons of former Wildcat fathers say there weren't expectations to attend Linfield, which plays at noon Saturday in McMinnville in an NCAA quarterfinal playoff game against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The school and its football program spoke for itself.
"My dad always encouraged me to look at other places, but of course, he has nothing but good things to say about Linfield," said senior defensive tackle Tyler Steele, a 2011 all-American whose father Bill played baseball for the Wildcats.
Defensive end Jeremy Girod, whose father, Jon, played quarterback at Linfield during the early 1980s, has twice enrolled at Linfield. Girod played football as a freshman, left Linfield to play baseball at Vancouver's Clark College, but felt the Linfield pull again when he returned to McMinnville in 2011.
"I really liked the team's family-oriented atmosphere and I couldn't find it anywhere else," Girod said.
Senior receiver Aaron Hire says he was "intimidated" by his father's Linfield accomplishments. Doug Hire -- the current assistant head coach and offensive line coach -- earned two NAIA championship rings as a player, and an NCAA ring as a coach.
"Are you kidding? What was I going to do to top that?" Aaron Hire said.
At first, Hire didn't try. Aspiring to play professional football someday, Hire decided to attend the two-year Foothill College in northern California, hoping to attract interest from a Division I program.
But following a year there, it became apparent Linfield was the place to be for Hire.
"The attraction for kids to follow their dads to Linfield is tradition. It's overwhelming. It's almost like a lineage of pride," Hire said.
Drew Wert, a starting senior offensive guard, says Chuck, a former Linfield linebacker, didn't push the school on him during the college decision process. Wert picked Linfield because it came down to winning; no college in the Northwest wins as regularly as the Wildcats.
"I wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than myself," Wert said. "My dad was just happy to watch me play football anywhere. But I think he does take a little pride that I've had a pretty successful career at Linfield."
Other Linfield players with fathers who formerly played football at the school include sophomore linebacker Nick Fairhart (George), sophomore tight end Westly Meng (J.P.), junior defensive end Michael MacClanathan (Todd), junior safety Hoku Kama (Ed, a Linfield all-American) and freshman linebacker Trey Chiu (Tony).
It's not a surprise that many sons of former Wildcats ended up at Linfield. Among the school's current 13-man coaching staff, 10 were former Linfield players, including head coach Joseph Smith.
Of all the Linfield sons of former players, the most likely to land in McMinnville was Hire, even if he first resisted with a trip to a JC. Hire's mother, Teresa, played soccer at Linfield, as does his sister, Miranda, a freshman. Hire was a ball boy for Linfield's 2004 national title team.
"When I was a kid, my mom bought me a helmet, and I made her paint the stripes purple and red for Linfield," Hire said.
Steele's father Bill didn't play football, but had plenty of contact with former Wildcats football coaching great Ad Rutschman, who also coached baseball.
"My dad would always tell us stories about the character values coach Rutschman would instill in his players," Steele said.
Someday, if the current Wildcats have sons, there's a good chance their blood will flow toward Linfield.
"The first place we're looking," said Steele, "is Linfield. There's no doubt he'll find this place is special."
Wert promises if he has a son, he'll be sure to have plenty of Linfield game video for him to watch.
"If he asks, I'm sure I'll give this place a shining review," Wert said.
