PHOENIX — Casey Clanton remembers one play above the rest from all the film he’s seen of his father’s playing days at the University of Nebraska. 

 

A smile crept onto Clanton’s face as he sees the replay in his mind’s eye. The game film from the early 2000s simultaneously feeling dated and immediately affecting. 

 

“One play that I most remember was a fumble,” Casey said. “He picked it up and it was a 20-yard dash of him running it for a touchdown. That one stands out the most to me.”

 

The play Casey was referring to? Jon Clanton’s lone scoop and score that he took 20 yards for his only collegiate touchdown against Troy State in 2002. 

 

He finished his senior season with Nebraska totaling 45 tackles, including 15 solo stops along with the fumble recovery and a touchdown that would motivate his son years later to reach the same high-level of playing college football. 

 

Jon Clanton is now the head coach of Central High School’s football team, but five years with the Nebraska program set a standard that his son now hopes to follow. 

 

Success at Central has already begun for Casey, who was selected to the All-Conference team in the 6A Metro division a year ago, but that’s only the start of what the junior defensive end hopes to accomplish. 

 

“My next milestone I want to reach is getting Nebraska to look at me,” Casey said. “If Nebraska could look at me, I want to go there and go in my dad’s footsteps. If I could play on defense I would love that because I would be even closer to his first steps.”

 

Casey was listed as a standout at Nebraska’s annual skills camp that holds roughly 250 recruits this past June, according to HuskerOnline.com. 

 

He’s transformed his game to best take advantage of his father’s past experiences and expertise on defense, knowing that utilizing the valuable information his father holds will give him the edge he needs to succeed.

 

Casey stands tall at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and continues to grow, which made his father believe he could use his size best at another position. 

 

“Originally I was a linebacker, so I had to convert down to the defensive line,” Casey explained. “Knowing that my dad played on the defensive line all through high school, college, and going into the NFL scouting days I know that’s a lot of experience that I have to take in and put it upon myself to show my dad through how I play.”

 

Jon was a Cornhusker from 1998-2002. His tenure included three 10-win seasons and a Rose Bowl appearance after the 2001 season. He later had a stint in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans when he was signed as an undrafted free agent but was cut after the first preseason game.

 

Getting the most out of his playing career was one accomplishment, but Jon had another dream -- coaching his son in the game that he loved.   

 

“It’s something I've always wanted to do,” Jon said. “Ultimately I didn’t think I would get to coach him in specific drills and type of positions but it worked out so he’s on the defensive line now and I get to work with him which is good some days and some days it isn’t.” 

 

While Jon says getting to spend so much time together is “the best part” coaching Casey, isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. 

 

“Sometimes you yell at him and he likes to think ‘Well, we’re with home-dad. This is coach talking to you,’” Jon said. “Sometimes we have to separate that but for the most part, he pays attention, he listens to what I have to say, and he’s been growing up with football his whole life so for him the expectations are high.” 

 

Senior running back Alonzo Cortes confidently said Jon is “way harder on Casey because he wants Casey to be great.”

 

The pairing of Jon and Casey on the field seems that much more unfeasible given the Clanton’s home is right by Laveen Betty Fairfax High School, and based on location Casey’s home team would have been Fairfax. 

 

The open enrollment policy allows for kids to go to whatever school they choose. Jon made the choice that his son would go to Central, so he could aide his son in becoming the best football player possible. 

 

Jon, having taken over as the head coach of Central in 2011, had already built the framework for the team he wanted Casey to join.

 

Fairfax head coach Dylan Winemiller says he has seen Casey grow up and says both Jon and Casey have a “cool dynamic,” one in which both act very professionally.

 

“Yeah, I mean you wouldn’t even know,” Winemiller said in a phone interview. “We just know because we know them personally. They’re not hand-in-hand or anything like that. He’s not overly talkative about his kid or anything like that. When we’re preparing to play them, we’re looking at everybody, not just the coach's son.”

 

Winemiller said even he roots for Casey, each week he isn’t playing Fairfax. 

Added Central sophomore quarterback Andrew Taylor: “Coach handles it pretty well. It’s nothing bad about it. It doesn’t affect us. We just see him wanting to see his son succeed. Nothing much more.”

 

Jon said that it’s important to show no favoritism toward Casey and maintain a good working relationship with the rest of the team.   

 

Both Clanton's acknowledge that one of the biggest sacrifices that come with this journey is less time spent with family. The rest of the Clanton family consists of Jon, his wife Lynn, Casey, his daughters Kailee and Kloe, and his other son Christian.

 

“Football is not a one-season sport,” Jon said. “It’s year-round. When you’re in football season, you're out the door early and home late every night, ultimately it never really ends. I mean really it doesn’t. Over the years it takes a toll but I think you have to have a strong wife to be able to do that. I've been fortunate enough to have a very understanding, sports wife. She’s been great and has allowed me to do those things.”

 

Jon said Lynn has given him the tools to turn his son into a man and Casey is the one reaping the benefits. 

 

“When you run track and field and you win, you win a gold medals right?” Casey said. “Everyday here I think I'm winning a gold medal because I get to be with my dad everyday.”

 

The pressure to live up to his father is certainly on Casey, but his coach believes he has the mentality and determination needed to become great. 

 

“A little bit of both pressure and something to live up to,” Jon said. “He wants to be a Nebraska football player and that’s great and nothing would make me more proud. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into that. I think he definitely has that drive and passion for it.”

 

That’s spoken like a Cornhusker, a coach and a father.