Tennessee brings William Inge and son, Isaiah, back to the same gridiron
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — From the time Isaiah Inge was born, to his freshman year at Tennessee, his dad, William Inge, had made eight different coaching stops.
However, that never stopped Isaiah and William from sharing unforgettable moments on the gridiron growing up.You would see him running around on the football field and you would see him trying to tackle the little bags and things like that, you could tell it was something that he really enjoyed as a young little youth,” said William, “I know he probably doesn’t like the days that we had to go tackle a tree because he came in one day with his shoulders a little scared from tackling the trees.”
Coaching moments, as well as life lessons, “I think I really learned the most was to keep pushing myself,” said Isaiah. “Cause I think just in life you gotta be mentally strong, and I think that’s one thing he really put on me in general… do the most I can to push myself to be the best.”
Though with William coaching, they also spent a lot of time on separate football fields. So, when it came time for Isaiah to choose a college, it was finally time to wear the same colors.We knew no matter what if you were gonna come to college, you are gonna be there and I’m gonna get the chance to see you every day,” William said.
Isaiah a preferred walk-on, and Inge in his first year as Tennessee’s linebackers coach, walked into the same practice in the fall of 2024.
“How our offices sit, I can see him walking right away so I could see his walk from a 100 yards away and usually he would get a text message or call from us in our offices and you could see him starting to laugh before he even answered the phone and usually it’s just like I love you, let’s have a great day,” said William.
Great days went by and eventually it was time for Tennessee’s season opener.And for once, there was no chance William could miss his son’s game, including his first collegiate snaps.
“Out of my peripheral I see 96 running into the game so I literally wish I had 10 sets of eyes because I’m going back in forth from my position, communicating so my guys know what’s going on and also trying to watch and see how he’s doing or just catching him when he comes off the field, hey how was it, what was it like,” William said.
“I remember running on the field and turning around just to see the call and I could just see him staring at me and I already knew he just had eyes on me, I’ve never had that opportunity I mean knowing my dad is a football coach, to just run off the field and see him, it hit my heart when it happened,” Isaiah said.A moment that served as a reminder, that after years of sometimes not even living in the same state, they now get to represent the same one.
“Now that you’ve gotten a chance to go through a year of seeing what we’ve missed out on, I wouldn’t change anything for it,” said William.
