What’s it like coaching your son? Mizzou’s Luper has done it before, and he will again
When Missouri assistant Curtis Luper was at Auburn, he often saw a familiar face during practice: his son, Chance.
Luper didn’t bring Chance to the practice field. Instead, Luper said Chance somehow convinced his bus driver to drop him off at the football offices instead of the family’s home.
“I’d look up and he’d be at practice,” Luper said Wednesday. “I didn’t know how he got there. … That’s just the culture the head coach creates. That’s how your family is involved every step of the way.”
About a decade later, Luper will again be seeing his son on the practice field where he works — Chance is suiting up as a Mizzou football player. Chance, a freshman wide receiver, joined MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s inaugural recruiting class after Luper was named Mizzou’s running backs coach.
“At the end of the day, it’s just four extra years you can spend with your son,” Luper said. “Given the times that we’re living in right now, it’s really a blessing being on campus with my son. I don’t have to worry. I haven’t seen him, but he’s about 15 minutes away. That’s a beautiful thing.”
It isn’t the first time Luper’s been a coach and had a son as a player. When Luper was at TCU, his oldest son, Cameron Echols-Luper, played with the Horned Frogs for two seasons from 2013-14.
Echols-Luper ended up transferring after two seasons, but Luper said he learned some lessons from that experience. It can be odd at first, Dad said, when a coach mentions that another player is better than your kid. But Luper said he knows how to strike a balance between being a parent and being a coach.
It wasn’t a guarantee that Chance was going to join the Tigers. Luper said he wanted his son to make his own decision — he had offers elsewhere. Chance was committed to Boise State before flipping his pledge.
“Chance was a basketball player growing up,” Luper said. “He wasn’t about that contact. Then he just evolved. He grew. He started as a quarterback in ninth grade; next thing you know, he’s 6-3. I’m just like, ‘Wow, this guy can play.’”
Chance was familiar with some of Mizzou’s coaches, and not just dad. Luper said Chance has known Drinkwitz, special teams coordinator Erik Link and other coaches since he was a kid.
Luper said he had one limitation when it came time for recruiting: Chance couldn’t sign with an opposing school, meaning other SEC schools were off the board. The elder Luper said he couldn’t envision seeing his son on the opposing sideline come game day.
“When you add all those (factors) together, I was hoping he would decide to come this way,” Luper said. “But it was his choice. He had some really good offers. It was his choice, and I wanted it to be his choice.”
Luper talked about how it’s impossible to manipulate time, especially when it comes to children growing up and choosing their own paths. But with Chance committed to Mizzou, he’s grateful to get an additional four years with his son.
He credits Drinkwitz, who he described as a family-oriented man, for making it possible. He also praised former Auburn coach Gene Chizik, who allowed Chance to show up at those Auburn practices all those years ago.
“That’s just the culture created by the head football coach,” Luper said. “Chizik made it so the kids are welcome around at all times. Coach Drink has the same philosophy. Families are welcome.”