Ex-Falcons Tuggle prepares son for football limelight

Jessie Tuggle held firm to a policy at his son's recreation-league football games: No autographs. He was there as a coach for Justin's team, not as one of the Mount Rushmore players in Falcons history.

Once, some opponents took umbrage at Tuggle's refusal to sign and warned Justin they would take it out on him.

Years later, when the 10th-grader transferred to Northview High in Duluth and was installed lickety-split as starting quarterback, some parents and fans booed him at the opener. Tuggle, the school's volunteer linebackers coach, says the dissidents assumed Justin earned the job through nepotism.

For all of its privileges — access to expert football tutors and gear, no-limit resources for camps, front-row seats at midfield in the Georgia Dome — being the offspring of an icon has drawbacks.

"There is pressure that comes with being an NFL [star's] son," the elder Tuggle said. "You've got to work harder than the other kids."

Today, Tuggle the teen is coping with a different sort of pressure: a wide-open competition for lead quarterback at Boston College. His surname means nothing now, which is how he prefers it.

"I'm trying to walk my own path," he said during a week-long visit home. "I can't stand it when people say I've been given things."

Fate gave him an impossibly overachieving father. Jessie took the backroads through Valdosta State to the NFL, overcoming the small-college scarlet letter and a tree-stump build to become a five-time Pro Bowl selection at linebacker. He never wore out his welcome, spending all 14 seasons with the Falcons.

With Justin, "it was good to not hand him a silver spoon," said Tuggle, who drilled deeply the lesson that there are no shortcuts in sports.

Justin is not necessarily a chip off the old block. Taking after the mother's side of the family, which included his 6-foot-11 grandpa, Justin shot up to 6-3, outgrowing his former position of running back. Barely more than 200 pounds upon arriving at Chestnut Hill, Mass., he has filled out to 225 by lifting weights and gulping down training-table food.

"He's looking like a specimen now," the 5-10 Tuggle said enviously.

Justin, mimicking the opposing quarterback on the scout team each week last season, embraced being a redshirt. (Except for trying to replicate the unorthodox Georgia Tech offense. "That was a pain," he said. "Not a big fan.")

Come the offseason, tumult swept B.C. as coach Jeff Jagodzinski was fired and incumbent quarterback Dominique Davis transferred after an academic suspension.

Tuggle joined a free-for-all to fill the vacancy during spring practice. No candidate distinguished himself, and the race was nearly joined by Billy Flutie — himself the progeny of a legend, Doug. Then the plot thickened with the recent arrival of transfer David Shinskie, 25, who veered to pro baseball after high school.

Too bad that a current Falcons player of note cannot pull his substantial weight at B.C. on Tuggle's behalf. All former Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan could do is wish Justin good luck and urge him to fight for the gig.

The family connection will resurface in the media and cyberspace this season, especially given Justin's high-profile position.

"What I went through is going to be magnified 10 times what he'll be going through," said Jessie, who has tried to prepare Justin for such moments.