Mike Whittington won a national championship with Notre Dame in 1977, as Joe Montana quarterbacked the Fighting Irish to an 11-1 season.
Then the linebacker joined the New York Giants for four years, playing alongside Hall of Famers Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor.
And while he's now retired down in Florida, Whittington is going to make a concerted effort to attend at least one Penn football game this fall.
That's because following in his gridiron footsteps is his son, J.D. Whittington, a redshirt sophomore on the Penn football team playing as a linebacker and long snapper.
Unlike the elder Whittington, though, J.D. is likely not headed for the pros.
Since his senior year of high school, J.D. has suffered three significant injuries. First was an ACL tear on his right knee that sidelined him for the majority of his senior year. In fall camp before his freshman year at Penn, he reinjured the knee and ended up with a medical redshirt.
Then he tore a ligament in his hand during spring practice that year, and after that summer, the coaches decided he'd be better suited playing on the JV squad than sitting out varsity games.
His JV play impressed varsity coach Al Bagnoli, who liked his snapping more and more.
But then in the very last practice before the spring scrimmage, Whittington tore his ACL for the second time. He's out for the year, and is hoping to return for spring practice in 2009.
"J.D. was slated to be the No. 1 snapper," Bagnoli said. "We'd feel a lot better off with J.D. at long snapper."
Whittington was hurting emotionally and physically, but it wasn't the first time he'd been down that path.
"It definitely was a disappointment, because I was getting most of the long-snapper reps and was in the mix at defensive end, outside linebacker," he said. "But it's not as bad as the first time. I've been through it once before. So I'm ready for it."
The cruel irony is that Mike Whittington was virtually injury free in his four years of collegiate ball and five in the pros. (He played one year with the United States Football League's Memphis Showboats with Hall of Fame pass rusher Reggie White.)
While he was in South Bend from 1976-79, the Irish went 36-11, including winning that '77 Cotton Bowl, 38-10.
"It was a great honor to win a national championship," he said. "Not many people can say that."
Playing for the Giants, Whittington saw mostly special teams action. In fact, the Big Blue's special teams coach at the time still remembers Whittingon's talents.
"Even now, Bill Belichick sometimes will mention some of his best special players, and he'll mention my name," Whittington said. "He still remembers us. We made that much of an impression."
Whittington's experiences made quite the impression on J.D., too. Sports were a big part of the Whittington household, although both father and son say there was no pressure for J.D. to play football.
"I'd say he influenced, but not directly," J.D. said. "He was very easy on me, very laid back. "
Notre Dame, however, did did influence J.D. He grew up rooting for the Irish and admits he's still a huge Notre Dame fan. While colleges were courting him, J.D. was faced with a tough decision.
"During my recruitment process, I realized my talent level was better suited for the I-AA level [than Notre Dame]," he said. "Any attention I got from Notre Dame was simply because of the legacy factor."
J.D. - who was accepted to Notre Dame but not as one of head coach Charlie Weis' recruits - had to choose between trying to walk on there or going to an Ivy League school where he was receiving serious football offers.
He doesn't regret his decision to join the Quakers.
"I tried to get into the best academic school," he said. "When they told me they could get me into Wharton, it's kind of hard to turn it down, especially with a really competitive football tradition."
Bagnoli, meanwhile, paid some attention to the elder Whittington's pedigree, but primarily focused on J.D.'s talents.
"It's always nice when Dad's a pro athlete," Bagnoli said. "It's certainly a bonus. But J.D. stood on his own merits. He's a tremendous long snapper, and he was a great linebacker in high school."
With the latest injury, Whittington's linebacking days are probably over. But with the time he has left (he's unsure right now if he'll use his fifth year of eligibility for the 2010 season), he should still get a chance to show off his long-snapping talents.
That, of course, is barring another injury. But then again, maybe the luck of the Irish will finally kick in for one of Notre Dame's "Loyal Sons."
