Brent Stockstill, Siegel's senior quarterback, plays about half his games with his dad, MTSU coach Rick Stockstill, watching. That number likely will decrease over the next four years.
A member of The Tennessean's 2012 Dandy Dozen college prospects, Stockstill projects as a mid-major recruit and already has four scholarship offers. However, Middle Tennessee State isn't in his mix and isn't expected to be.
"As of right now, I think what's best for me is going off somewhere and playing for somebody else," Brent Stockstill said. "I'd like to go off and do my own thing and experience college life in a new environment that I can succeed in and have a good experience. We've realized it's best, most likely, if I go off and see what's out there for me.
"In a perfect world, I'd like to play for a staff similar to (MTSU's) and a coach similar to him -- just somewhere else."
"He's got a great relationship with his father," Siegel coach Greg Wyant said. "His dad is ultra-supportive of him."
MTSU is coming off a 2-10 season, the worst of Rick Stockstill's six years in Murfreesboro. Stockstill is 35-40 at MTSU with two winning seasons and one bowl victory in three appearances.
Some father-son coach-quarterback combinations have worked, such as Jack and John Elway at Stanford, but others, such as Dan and Cody Hawkins at Colorado, have not.
Rick Stockstill played for his father in high school before going to Florida State.
"What I experienced being a coach's son, it was obviously a lot easier back then," he said. "It was pre-Internet, pre-message boards. It's a little bit of a different dynamic now, especially the coach/quarterback dynamic.
"When I was at Florida State, Coach (Bobby) Bowden's son Jeff was a receiver. So I've been able to experience it personally on the high school level and I saw it on the college level. And I coached at Clemson, where assistant coaches' sons played. I've been around it enough to see the good and the bad of it."
The quarterback's decision doesn't surprise his mother.
"We always thought he'd go and play somewhere else," Sara Stockstill said. "I wouldn't want him too far from home, but I'm good with it. I think staying with our original thought is probably the best situation all the way around.
"Brent would like to be a coach. In some respects, it'd be great that he'd be able to learn from Rick. But it's a hard situation if things don't go well."
Wyant -- the son of a former college assistant coach -- can see the potential hazards of a quarterback playing for his father, but doesn't think it would be an issue for the Stockstills.
"I think he could go over there and play for Middle ... and be a heck of a starter," Wyant said. "He's got an unbelievable football mind. He's an incredible leader. He's as humble as any kid I've ever been around.
"What you would hate to see is Brent go over there and they struggle, all eyes go to the quarterback position, and there's a lot of pressure on Rick to make a change. I think that's one of the things they're trying to avoid."
Brent Stockstill said the worst-case scenario does have a place in the thought process.
"If things go good, everything's great. If something goes wrong ...," he said. "I don't think it's something we couldn't do. I think we could manage it. But that did play a big role in us deciding it'd probably be better with me going somewhere else."
Stockstill does have an offer from one BCS school -- Texas Tech -- along with Memphis, Toledo and Western Michigan.
NCAA recruiting rules allow Stockstill to attend as many Siegel games as he is able to, according to MTSU compliance director John McCammon. Because of MTSU's schedule, Stockstill probably will make five games this season.
"It's excruciating (not being there)," Rick Stockstill said. "We spend most of our time raising somebody else's sons and we miss out so much on our own kids. I knew that going into this profession. It's tough."
Regardless of where he plays, Brent Stockstill said the impact his father has made on him has been immeasurable.
"I've always worked like I was going to play college football, learned like I was going to play college football," he said.
"Being around and seeing how hard the guys worked, seeing how hard they're coached, how much work it takes in the weight room and on the field and in film study, has helped a ton.
"My dad was at Clemson when I started playing in first grade. I picked up a ball and thought it was just right for me, what I wanted to pursue. As a kid, you always want to work hard and believe and dream you can accomplish things. That was my mind-set."
