When Jeff Scurran talks about his quarterback, you can hear a certain energy in his voice.
βHereβs a good story. Rhett was a freshman, and we had a really key game, and the scout defense made an adjustment very similar to what the opponent would do in a game, and we didnβt have an answer for it,β he said.
βIt was a Wednesday. It was plausible itβd happen during a game, and you have to see that thing coming. In adjusting, the offense can be panicked, there can be confusion. But if itβs handled a certain way, itβs simple enough to adapt, so I made an on-field adjustment, and Rhett turns around, in front of the whole team, and he gets this little boy excitement. He says, βThatβs exactly the same adjustment my dad made against Miami when we were at West Virginia with Pat White. Thatβs gonna work!β And you know what that can do to a team. But I put my left hand up, counting off my fingers, and said, βWait, you were 4-5-6-7 years old! How do you remember that?β
βThatβs Rhett.β
More than three years later, the story still makes Scurran laugh.
Their relationship has changed now, with Rhett Rodriguez maturing beyond his 18 years. Scurran doesnβt see much of that giddy excitement anymore. Rhett is 18-going-on-33, with a football scholarship to the UA in hand.
Itβs not that heβs serious, or stoic, just β¦ above it all.
But this playoff run, the one that has put Catalina Foothills in Saturdayβs Class 4A state championship game against vaunted Scottsdale Saguaro, has left Rhett nearly in a state of shock.
βIβm almost in disbelief,β he says. βI donβt know if itβs set in yet.β
The Falcons have needed a little luck and a whole lot of Rhettβs magic, eking out a first-round, four-point win over Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, then surviving a 52-49 shootout with Peoria Sunrise Mountain in the quarterfinals that required a desperate fourth-down conversion, and finally a 62-37 blowout of Gilbert Higley in last Fridayβs semifinals.
Rhettβs stats during the sixth-seeded Falconsβ surprising playoff run: 44-of-64 passing for 895 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception, plus 42 carries for 203 yards and six touchdowns.
Youβd expect him to be jumping for joy, but heβs not. Rhettβs a part of another team, one thatβs struggling.
βThis seasonβs been tough, and itβs not that Iβm not enjoying the playoff run, but itβd be sweeter if it was combined; Iβm reminded of a couple years ago and I remember them winning the Pac-12 South, and the whole family was having such a high moment,β he said. βAnd now, Iβve had a great playoff run and Iβm happy, but itβs hard to come home and not everyone is as happy as I am.β
When your father is Rich Rodriguez, and he is the head coach of the 2-9 Arizona Wildcats, even a championship run doesnβt quell the disappointment.
Crash course
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When Rita Rodriguez talks about her quarterback, you can hear a certain energy in her voice, too.
βHeβs always been like an old soul; Iβve always thought that,β Rita says of her only son. βOne of the best things he does is he listens. He has this quality about him. You just tell him things, and he sits and listens, and he understands. I probably talk to him about more than I should. But he listens. He seems to take it all in.β
Arizona game days have been a mixed blessing for Rhett, but always something to which he looked forward. He did not play football as an eighth-grader so that he could attend UA games with his father entrenched as first-year coach. He started for Scurran as a freshman, though, which probably tells you all you need to know about eighth-grade football.
Two years ago, Rhett began using the Arizona Stadium sidelines as a de facto laboratory. What other high school quarterback gets that kind of apprenticeship? Given a headset, he was able to understand the nuances of one of the great offensive minds in college football.
Rhettβs been on the sidelines since his father coached at Michigan, but only now does he consider himself a student of the game. He started to see, as he says, the strategy behind it all. Gone were the days of serving as ball boy, hoping to get a high-five from a guy after a touchdown drive.
βI was kind of just watching for fun, and now β look, itβs fun to watch, of course β but itβs stressful,β Rhett said. βArizona games are more stressful for me than my own games. At least in mine I can try to make a play, to help the team win. When Iβm on the sidelines now, thereβs nothing I can do. Itβs just hard to watch and want to do something.β
This year, especially. The Wildcats have been beset by injuries and ineffectiveness at the skill positions.
Itβs been a tough season all around, but both Rhett and Rita say RichRod does an admirable job of keeping his football frustrations out of the household.
In a lot of ways, Rhett has learned before many not just the Xβs and Oβs, but the vexes and woes.
βWeβve had some down times with football,β Rhett said. βItβs not always a fun profession to be in. Thatβs helped me grow up a little more. Iβve always been mature for my age; itβs not that Iβve felt older, but Iβve always tried to see the bigger picture of things.β
Now, Rhett does not just feel for his father, or for his family, or for his team, but for the faces that go along with a 2-9 season.
βI know some of the players, and to know the faces that go along with it, that theyβre not just a player but a person β thatβs been hard,β he said. βI interact with the quarterbacks more than other positions, and itβs been a struggle. The littlest things are so fragile. It ends up being a touchdown or a 5-yard loss. Everyone is trying so hard, trying their best, but the littlest mistakes have been the downfall.β
Thatβs the biggest lesson that Rhett has taken from his years on the sidelines, that the smallest details matter. Heβs learned that the best way to maintain focus is to keep things simple, something that heβll undoubtedly put into use one day when heβs a coach.
Or, how about now?
βBefore the USC game, we knew (freshman) Khalil (Tate) would start, and my dad talked to me about making things simpler for him,β Rhett said. βItβs not like Iβm part of the offense or anything, but just the language. βDoes this make sense? Is this something we can work on?β It doesnβt make me feel bad at all that Iβm the guy he comes to dumb it down to. I love it. I love talking ball with my dad. I love that he can go to me.
βIβm not sure how much help I gave. But it made me feel good.β
His fatherβs son
When Rich Rodriguez talks about his quarterback, you can hear a certain energy in his voice as well.
βIβm just, I guess, more proud β¦β
And then Rich Rodriguez, who after a loss is rougher than a lumberjackβs palms, buries his head in his left arm. His right knee twitches. His foot taps. He leans back and cracks his knuckles. βGive me a second,β he says. He needs 45. He wipes his eyes.
βHeβs having a terrific playoff run,β RichRod says of his son. βI donβt how many touchdowns heβs accounted for the last couple weeks, but I see him work. By Sunday, heβs watching 10 hours of film. I come home, 9:30, 10 oβclock at night, and heβs watching film and wants me to watch some film with him. Heβs had a great senior year, the teamβs doing great, but Iβm probably more proud of who he is, as a student, as a person.β
RichRod isnβt the only one who discusses Rhettβs study habits.
βHe watches as much film as I do,β Scurran said. βHe sees it through the eyes of a quarterback, and I see it through the eyes of a coach. β¦ Rhett and I have a relationship of player-coach, but we also have one of student-mentor. Rhett wants to be a football coach some day, heβs told me that since Iβve met him. My promise was Iβd share everything I could so that he could see a different perspective than he gets from his dad.
βWe constantly discuss why we do things a certain way. We even argue about different ideas. He has input and I listen to him. I always win the argument. But I listen to him.β
And thatβs enough for Rhett. He just wants to be in the conversation.
βHe calls all the plays, and heβs got the control, but itβs almost like Iβm a player-coach,β said Rhett, who has started more than 50 high school games.
To hear the passion her son displays for the game is refreshing for Rita Rodriguez. She and Rich did not force football on their son.
Rhettβs parents held him out of Pop Warner, and Rich constantly said, βRita, heβs not ready,β and Rita told Rich, βYouβre overthinking it.ββ
βBut then heβs 9 or 10, I took him to practice, we got his helmet, pads, he starts catching these passes, looks great, and then he walks back to me and says, βOK, mom, Iβm ready to go home,ββ Rita said. βI said, βYou have to finish this practice, and after weβll talk β¦β
βWe gave him a chance to do what he wanted to and to let him find it on his own. Your passion canβt be someone elseβs passion.β
They had some honest talks, Rich and Rita.
βWe didnβt know if he loved football enough,β Rita said. βYou have to love it. You can like it, and you can be OK. But you have to love it to be a great player.β
Hearing Rich Rodriguez describe his son, that doesnβt sound like a make-or-break thing. With some head football coaches, if their kidβs not the second coming of John Elway, you can hear the disappointment dripping from their voice. Not RichRod.
In many ways, Catalina Foothillsβ success this season has been therapeutic for both Rhett and his father.
βI donβt know if release is the right word, but being able to go and just watch as much as a dad β (UA offensive line coach Jim) Michalczik, two weeks ago, weβre both on the sidelines, and they score late and Iβm watching myself fist pump and get fired up on a high school game. It was kind of neat,β Rich Rodriguez said. βYou get to follow not just him, but his teammates heβs grown with over two or three years. Seeing them have the joy they have after having success, winning a game like that, thereβs nothing better than that. β¦ To watch my sonβs growth from a 150-pound, skinny freshman quarterback to being a grown man now. A grown man. Making checks and competing his tail off. Itβs been one true bright spot for me this fall.β
One win away
When Rhett Rodriguez talks about himself, you can hear a certain energy in his voice.
βEvery game is a new lesson to learn,β he says. βIβve been paying attention to football for eight years, and Iβve learned lessons from playing and watching with my perspective on the sidelines, and every game teaches me something.β
This playoff run has taught him one great lesson: Never lose faith.
And another: Always watch the official.
βI still canβt believe we won against Sunrise,β Rhett said. βWeβre down with two minutes left, fourth-and-10 and we got it. I mean how often does that happen? Weβre on our 40-yard line and they were double-covering Bryan Beckon the whole night and we called timeout before the play, and Coach Scurran lets me have input, and I said, βWe have to throw a post to Bryan.β They had double-coverage, but outside leverage. He said it was the right idea. I dropped back, the pocket broke down, I moved to my right, saw he was open, chucked it deep, got him.
βI didnβt realize he didnβt score. Everyone was stoked, but I was like, βWeird, I thought thatβd get more celebration.β So coach calls a sneak, and Iβm like, βOn a two-point conversion? Thatβs weird. But I got it, and everyone starts freaking out, and I was like, wait, that wasnβt a conversion?ββ
No, Beckon hadnβt scored.
So it seems Rhett Rodriguez is so good, he doesnβt even know when he scores a touchdown.
Hereβs betting someone else knew.
βMy dad is a very emotional guy, but a lot of people donβt see him as a dad, as part of a family,β Rhett said. βAnd itβs almost like he flips a switch. At home, heβs dad. There are sometimes it overlaps, but when heβs on the (Foothills) sidelines, heβs a dad. I remember my very first game, playing Desert View, we were 0-10 the year before, the running back scored, and you can see my dad throws his hands in the air throwing up a touchdown sign.β
And if you donβt think that matters to a guy in the midst of a 2-9 season, youβre wrong.
βI think this has really helped him,β Rita said.
βThe exciting success of Rhettβs season has been a blessing. Rhett wants to talk football, but he wants to talk Catalina Foothills, and if youβre really a great coach, you just love talking strategy. Thatβs all you need. And itβs been a blessing for Rich.β
