Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion has football in his blood
LOS ANGELES – Under the tutelage of Mike Riley and his staff, Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion has turned into one of the nation’s most prolific passers. But his development as a quarterback started long before his days in Corvallis: The 6-5 senior was brought up by his father and high school football coach, John Mannion.
Guiding Sean from a young age, John served as one of Sean’s high school coaches at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California. He then took a coaching job 50 miles outside of Corvallis during Sean's redshirt year at Oregon State.
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Sean touched on how he and his father interact these days at Pac-12 Football Media Day on Thursday.
“As I have come to college and he has moved to a different program in Oregon, there has kind of been a separation in terms of he is not coaching me anymore, he is just 'Dad.' He is just supporting me, just trying to help me the ways that he can outside of football," the Oregon State quarterback said.
Sean expressed that having his dad nearby throughout his college career has been great for the both of them, but also pointed out that having him as his high school coach was crucial to his development.
“Growing up in high school and playing for him, that was a great experience," he said. "The best thing it did for me was just give me exposure to the game. Getting to play catch with him in the front yard, getting to tag along with him to practice just to hang out with my dad. That was special growing up."
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Mike Riley has noticed how having a head football coach for a father has molded Sean as an athlete.
“I know his dad pretty well, and his dad is a really good football coach," Riley said. "I would imagine that some of that has rubbed off. Sean has that love of the game and the work ethic that goes into the game, and I think that could very well be from the character of John Mannion."