9/11/2002 - Football
All In The Family
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Dan Person has been coming to Navy football games since 1992, when he was just 12 years old, to see his oldest brother Andy suit up for the Midshipmen. Andy had a stellar career at the Naval Academy, becoming a rare four-year letterwinner at defensive end.
The Person family kept coming to games as Chris, the second oldest of six brothers, joined Andy in 1994 and was a four-year member of the football team. Chris earned a varsity letter in 1997, a season that saw Navy go 7-4 and record back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 15 years.
So when it was time for Dan to pick which school he wanted to attend, Navy was an obvious choice, though he felt no pressure from his older brothers.
"The Naval Academy is something that you have to want to do, regardless of whether your brothers or father came here or not," said Dan. "It has to be something you want to do yourself; otherwise you aren't going to make it through. Certainly, coming here at a young age, seeing the games, seeing the atmosphere, seeing everything, it was a big drawing point. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time."
Dan played on the junior varsity as a freshman and played in four varsity games as a sophomore. Last year, he earned a varsity letter by playing in all 10 games and starting four. He recorded 15 tackles, including a career-high five in his hometown of Philadelphia against Temple, and intercepted a pass against Rutgers. This year, Person is listed as a starter at defensive end going into the season opener at SMU, a position that both Andy and Chris played at Navy.
"We are excited about this year after last year's disappointing season," said Dan. "We have continued to improve every day. Coach Johnson has gotten everybody to have a different attitude. We play and practice much harder."
The entire Person family was thrilled that Dan would have the opportunity to play for Paul Johnson. Andy was a senior and Chris a junior when Johnson came to Navy as the offensive coordinator in 1995.
"As soon as I told them he was coming back, they were nothing but smiles," said Dan. "They were so excited for this team and the program. They, like every other Navy fan and former Navy player, want to win just like the team does and they knew Coach Johnson would come in and change the attitude and bring with him some wins.
"The entire family was excited that Coach Johnson was coming back," said Chris, who service selected the Marine Corps and is currently at the Marine-Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego. "Coach Johnson is a winner and it was a comforting feeling to know that my brother was going to be taken care of. You want your brother to succeed and I knew he would have a better chance now that Coach Johnson was the head coach."
"We love Coach Johnson and we were thrilled for the team," said Bill and Suzanne Person, the parents of seven children, including six boys that have or will play Division I football. "He will bring discipline back to the program. We are excited about the season."
Andy, Chris and Dan aren't the only Person brothers to play college football. Brian, who is a year older than Dan, played defensive end at Pennsylvania while Fran, who is two years younger than Dan, is a tight end at South Carolina. Dan says that neither brother was given a hard time about not choosing Navy.
"We are proud of both of them. Brian graduated from the Wharton School of Business so we are looking to give him our money and hopefully he can make us some cash. Fran is doing great down at South Carolina and is happy with his decision."
The Person tradition at Navy will not end with Dan's May graduation, however, as the youngest brother, Joe, is currently attending the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I. and plans on attending the Naval Academy and playing football next year. If that comes to fruition, there will have been a Person on the Navy football team every year but one (1998) from 1992-2006, an incredible 14 years. Dan is excited that Joe will be following in his footsteps.
"It makes you feel good when you can pass along the knowledge on what to expect and things you have gone through," said Dan. "It lets you reminisce about some stories you have, it makes you laugh at some things that were tough then, but now that you look back on it they are pretty funny."
For the time being though, Dan's main concern is turning around the football program and laying the foundation for future Navy football squads.
"It seems like it was yesterday that I was looking at guys like Brad Wimsatt for leadership and now it's our turn to be leaders," said Dan. It takes on a whole new perspective. If we're not doing things right, it sets a bad example for the younger guys on the team. It is the seniors' job to help this coaching staff get Navy football back on the right track."
