Brothers

Well Good Morning…..I’m sure most of us are putting up our Christmas decorations (or getting ready to)…..I was up in the garage taking down all the X-mas containers….My God….I can’t believe all the decorations we have….=) We did buy a new tree last year….so that’s my job today…..=)

As I was thinking back on some of the special guys that are part of The Long Blue Line, one guy really stood out. He was never a force on the field but behind the scenes, he was incredible. He had various injuries during his career that sidelined him. Wyatt Christiansen was a true Terrier. After his last injury, he came to me and asked, “Coach, what can I do to stay a viable part of the program. My playing day’s are done but I want to stay with the team. I’ll do anything. These guys are my brothers” He became our team manager and also coordinated our practice video filming. That’s tough duty esp. working with guys he had played with but he answered the call everyday. He graduated in 2016. He went on to NAU. (Coach Mauger’s Alma Mater) Wyatt and Coach Mauger were very tight. Wyatt volunteered as a manager at NAU for the football team as a freshman. He then received a scholarship his 2^nd year to work for the Football team in various capacities. One of a kind….no doubt!

Yesterday I got the chance to visit with Sami Grisafe. She was in town for Thanksgiving. Coach Olmedo, Coach Havard and I sat down with Sami and told stories. We laughed and cried….=) The Museum of my mind isn’t as sharp as it once was….=)…but I did remember few things.

Ross Cordova, who played on the 2012 team with my son, is a twitter guy. They are still good friends.  I think his handle is “Rossy”. He was a DB for us. He wasn’t the biggest guy or fastest….but he gave his Terrier brothers every thing he had. I mention him because I follow him on twitter…..and I love reading his comments whenever the Cowboys LOSE. He is a huge Cowboy fan! So you can imagine….funny stuff.

I had a lot of different actual brothers play for me over the years. I mentioned the Thompson brothers in an earlier blog. But this set of brothers were little “Banty” roosters. The Aguila brothers, Chris and Anthony. Because of their heart, these two could have played any position. They were loyal Terriers. They hated losing. I loved their attitude, they played the game because they just loved playing it and it showed!

Another two brothers were Mike and Jacob Nottingham. Mike missed a few years and joined us his senior year. He was an offensive lineman. Mike didn’t start but he never quit. He manned up every day. He presently is a police officer in Banning CA.  His younger brother Jacob was a starter at TE and OLBer. He played both Baseball and Football. He earned a baseball scholarship to Oklahoma his junior year. He was injured as a junior as well and was rehabbing a knee injury. He had every reason not to play his senior year. But he too, manned up and played. Jacob played so well that senior campaign, he could have received a Football scholarship to Arizona but he stuck with baseball and is presently in the Milwaukee organization (after being drafted by Houston). These two never quit and that’s a tribute to their parents, Greg and Blanca. Remember what I said earlier….the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The three Landon’s were special. Jacob was the older brother. He loved being a Terrier and his Terriers loved him. Brett I’ve already talked about as a Hog. The last of the Mohicans was Brian. He was gifted. He played both ways for me…..FS and WR. And that didn’t happen very often. One of my biggest mistakes concerning personnel was not playing him more as a sophomore. (his dad reminds me all the time)….=) But he could do it all. Again a fantastic family.

John and Siala Siliga were tough guys. John was a fantastic leader and player. He really was UN-blockable. He made plays during the game….and you wondered how he did that. Siala was gifted as well…we sometimes had to light a fire on his ass…..but when he felt that heat….he was a a dude!

The Grinnen brothers Gabe and Bill were so easy to coach. Everything they did was at 100%. These two were just so grounded in being great teammates and players.

The Jurado’s, Mattie and Mark were two fine players. Mark was a FB and Mattie was a SS. I kept trying to fire Mark as a FB….He wasn’t the fastest….He wasn’t the strongest…..but he had the heart of a lion. Man could he run trap. In the end, he just always got the job done. Mattie was a starter on the 06’ group. That defense was a hitting group and Mattie was a hitter. The Jurado clan, led by their dad Mark Sr., was an incredible Redlands family. I don’t think many realized how much Mark Jurado Sr.  gave to the City of Redlands and our kids and that’s a shame.

I’ll finish with the Burrola’s. Joey, I mentioned earlier when I talked about Quarterbacks. Joey was just a gamer….he could make things happen with his arm and feet, magical at times. Zach, his brother, was all defense for me. He would have made a great TE or FB as well. (I used him there at times) But Zach had an uncanny ability to find the ball and get there with a bad attitude. Man could he lay the lumber. He was definitely a wild card at times but every deck needs a Joker….=)

Well….gotta get after that new Christmas tree…Talk soon….Jim