Father of No. 2 prospect impressed with Meyer
As a three-time pro bowler for the Miami Dolphins, Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage head football coach Patrick Surtain knows a thing or two about the game of football. His more than 20 years within the game of football have provided him with a variety of different perspectives, which now includes being a head football coach at the high school level and the opportunity to coach his son, Patrick Surtain Jr.
For someone who was in the position of many former professional athletes, simply trying to find something they were passionate about after retirement, Surtain has greatly enjoyed the opportunity presented to him at one of South Florida's top high school programs.
"It has been cool," said Surtain. "After my playing days I was really just looking for something to do. I started coaching at the (youth) level, just coaching my son's team and I've just been moving on up. It has given me the opportunity to see him mature and when the opportunity came up to coach high school, I jumped on it."
Surtain has walked into a nearly dream scenario at American Heritage after taking the job following the 2015 season. He surmises the program will produce approximately a dozen FBS football prospects in just this 2018 class alone.
His son is the top ranked prospect of the group, the nation's No. 2 overall prospect according to Rivals.com. But it's the way his son goes about his business that makes him most proud as both a coach and a father.
"It's fun and the reason it's fun is because he's a hard worker," Surtain said of coaching his son. "He works hard every day in practice, he gets good grades, he takes coaching, and he loves football. As a coach you like that aspect, but as a dad, you feel proud."
Just about every major program is recruiting Surtain Jr. Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, and Urban Meyer are all personally involved.
"I would say at this stage he probably is better than me," he said. "He doesn't worry about the rankings though. He works like he is at the bottom of the totem pole. As a 17-year old he is more ahead of the curve than I was."
Surtain's perspective is a unique one. He deals with the nation's best college football coaches, not only because he's the head coach at a powerhouse program, but because he's the father of the nation's top-rated defensive back.
There is an added incentive there to be thorough and observant during his discussions with these coaches. His observations of the Ohio State coaching staff have been very positive to this point.
"They are winners," he said. "Going up there and meeting with coach Meyer and coach Smith and coach Coombs, the family aspect really impressed me."
Surtain took a group of his players up to Columbus (Ohio) in April. Ohio State has offered four class of 2018 prospects from the school, recently landing Rivals250 pass-rusher Andrew Chatfield. The Buckeyes are still hoping to land Tyson Campbell, Nesta Silvera, and of course Surtain Jr.
The group at American Heritage is so important to Ohio State that head coach Urban Meyer has been heavily involved from a very early point. Meyer and Surtain speak regularly and Surtain says he has a great deal of respect for the Buckeyes' head coach.
College football is more and more becoming big business but Surtain believes that Meyer is ahead of the curve in making sure his players aren't taken advantage of during their time at Ohio State and that they leave the program with life skills to go along with their development on the field.
"Urban Meyer, he's one of those coaches that he's not going to let his players get exploited," he said. "Like Pat talked about, with the internships for his players and everything, he really looks at life after football for his guys. He showed me some things that he's done for ex-players and that was really eye-opening. The things that he is trying to do for the college athlete, I really respect him for it. Besides that, he wins. He puts players in the NFL. Very impressive guy."