varsity.roanoke.com

You could see this coming when he was 3 years old, watching football film with all the coaches as his father plotted for the following week’s game.

You could sense it when he was 9 in the way he asked questions. Why’d the quarterback do that? Why’d the coverage bite on that guy?

And you could all but guarantee it when he was 18, and they called him on stage to accept the award as the best all-around student at William Byrd High School. The principal shook his hand and whispered in his ear:

Remember, Jeff, we like hiring our former students as teachers.

Even better if they can coach, too.

In many ways, this has always been Jeff Highfill Jr.’s destiny — presiding on the practice field alongside his father at Byrd. And when assistant coach Rick Witt left this offseason to become the head man at Staunton River, providing the Terriers a rare staff opening, there was little doubt that “Little Jeff” was the fit for the job.

“Take his name off his resume and put 'Mr. X’ on there, and you’d hire him in a heartbeat,” said Jeff Highfill Sr., who is entering his 28th season at Byrd. “Show me somebody who can match his resume and we’d love to hire that guy, too.”

That guy does not exist. The 23-year-old Highfill is armed with a mathematics degree from Bridgewater College, where he was the ODAC scholar-athlete of the year twice for football and once for all sports.

He starred at quarterback for the Eagles, just as he did at Byrd. Highfill Jr. earned 11 varsity letters in high school, was a captain six times, made first-team All-Blue Ridge District in football and soccer and was valedictorian of his senior class.

Plus, he’s known every member of the staff for years.

“He’s just in lockstep with what we’re doing,” said George George, a Byrd assistant for 28 years. “It’s not too hard to figure out what type of contribution he’s going to make.”

Highfill Jr., who was also hired as a math teacher, is in charge of the quarterbacks and outside linebackers. He’ll man the press box on Friday nights, breaking down opposing defenses.

“It’s very natural for me to step back into this, but it’s an adjustment being on the other side of the things,” Highfill Jr. said. “On the first day of pads here, I just wanted to be out there hitting somebody, but it’s been a good fit so far.”

Highfill Sr. said that’s always the biggest adjustment for a young coach: Realizing how limited your influence actually is. Particularly if the team struggles, former star players frequently have a hard time accepting that they can’t change it on their own.

But one potential pitfall has long since been cleared. Highfill Jr. dealt with whispers of nepotism as a player — his father is also coach of the powerhouse boys’ soccer team — but Junior’s performances always made the critics look silly. And now that they’re coaching together, neither is worried about any sniping about favoritism.

“It could have been tough with a whole different staff,” Highfill Sr. said. “Then you would have gotten more of that, where [other assistants] would be looking over their shoulder every time I asked Jeff to do something. 'Why’s he asking him? Because he’s his son?’

“All these guys helped raise him in a lot of ways.”

In staff meetings, Highfill Jr. is still known as “Little Jeff,” the name they’ve called him since he was a baby. But on the field, he’s “Coach Highfill.”
Highfill Sr. is simply “Coach.”

Whatever they call him, Highfill Jr. plans to carry the same work ethic to the practice field that helped him capture so many academic and athletic honors.

“I’ll try to make myself useful in any way possible,” he said. “I realize I’m the young guy. I’ve grown up with a lot of these coaches, but at the same time, I want to make sure I’m pulling my fair share of the work — if not more.”

And there just might be additional work on the way this spring.

“The soccer coach,” Highfill Jr. said with a smile and a peek at his father, “has been in contact with me.”