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Football A Family Tie For McBride, Grandson
The Deseret News Feature Story
Aug. 17, 2001
By Jay Hinton SALT LAKE CITY - For more than half of his life, Brad Shwam has occupied the best seat in the house at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium. At nearly every Ute home game for the past decade, he has cared for and carefully wound the headset cord for his grandpa and Utah head coach Ron McBride on the sidelines. During that time, he watched, listened and learned, and the Juan Diego High School senior will put all that knowledge to good use as he enters his senior season. "I've kind of stuck by him and I watch the game, and I learned through that," Shwam said. "Every Saturday going to a football game I learn something new and I then carry it on to my football games on Friday." McBride said his eldest grandson was a regular at Ute practices before life got in the way, but he still drops by occasionally. "All of a sudden he got to high school and started dating and has a car and does things that teenage kids do," McBride said. "He doesn't have as much time to spend with me as he used to." But it was during those times and at his grandpa's summer camps that Shwam, who started playing football his sophomore year, honed his skills. "The more I play (football) the more I have a respect for what he does," said Shwam, who also stars in basketball and baseball for the Soaring Eagle. "I've done a lot of learning through him." McBride said his grandson has taken pretty good notes. "He's got really good hands and runs good routes," he said. "He understands how to catch the ball and adjust to the ball." Shwam and the Soaring Eagle open the 2001 prep season at 7 p.m. with Granite -- the same team Juan Diego beat in last year's opener on his 93-yard kick return. Third-year Juan Diego finished 5-5 last year while playing as the state's only independent. This year the Soaring Eagle will play in the Class 2A North Division and is eligible for postseason play. Because of his rigorous and busy schedule, McBride, whose granddaughter, Heather, plays volleyball and softball at Juan Diego, saw Shwam play twice last year, but cell phone updates from his wife Vicky McBride keep him posted of Shwam's great catches at wide out and stellar plays on defense as a cornerback. And, occasionally, over Sunday dinner the family will rehash Shwam's game for McBride's benefit. "My wife probably talks to him more about football than I will," McBride said. "She'll start grilling him on routes and stuff like that." Shwam, who has a 3.7 GPA, will still be on the Utes' sideline each week, though new technology has eliminated his job as the keeper of the cord. He'll still take mental notes from Coach Mac.
"I'm really proud of Brad," McBride said. "He's really worked hard to do the things he's done."
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