It is no secret that the sport of football runs deep in the veins and hearts of the Ricedorff family. 

For the last four seasons, Randy Ricedorff, Rathan Ricedorff, and JT Slade, who married a Ricedorff family member, are all coaches of the American Leadership Academy football team. Randy is the head coach, Rathan the quarterback coach, and Slade is the defensive coordinator.

And all three are coaching another Ricedorff family member who is currently one of the leaders and the starting quarterback of the team. That is senior Jack Ricedorff.

 

Born in 2002, Jack never realized what the game of football meant to his entire family. His father Ryan Ricedorff, his uncle Randy, and his cousin Rathan were all football players who had the opportunity to play college football, but he never understood how talented and gifted his family was in the sport.

Perhaps Jack didn’t see the importance of the game throughout his youth because when his family met up, they played volleyball instead of football

“We would also meet at my dad’s house every Sunday, cook some dinner, and always play volleyball between all of us. It was our family activity every week,” Randy said.

Jack’s first football memory is not of him not being the quarterback but actually being on defense and intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown in flag football.

“When I was six years old, I don’t know how I remember this, but I just remember me playing defense and I intercepted a pass and while I was running down the sideline, I put my finger up in the air and ran into the end zone,” Jack said.

Jack fell in love with the sport from the beginning but at some point, he ended up hating football because he kept getting sacked when he played quarterback in tackle football.

“I would get absolutely crushed every single time because we didn’t have a line. Getting sacked almost every single play really made me hate the sport,” Jack said. “My dad had to eventually motivate me to get back out there and give it another shot. Ever since then, it was fine.”

It wasn’t until he saw his cousin Rathan Ricedorff play quarterback in high school under his dad Randy that it became the turning point for him to dedicate his life to becoming a great football player, play quarterback, and carry the name of the Ricedorff family on the field.

“Growing up, I would go see my cousin Rathan play quarterback at his high school,” Jack said. “When I heard the announcer say his name on the speakers and saw how well he played, I said to myself, ‘Dang, he’s a pretty good quarterback.’ And ever since then I knew I wanted to be just like him.”

Jack’s father, Ryan Ricedorff, felt that because of his family’s history in football, he had put pressure on his son’s shoulders.

“I felt that I was putting pressure on my son’s shoulders because of the fact that I played in college, his uncle and cousins played in college. I felt he was putting unnecessary pressure and setting up an expectation on himself if he played football,” Ryan said.

That mentality quickly changed when Ryan saw his son play at ALA for the first time under his brother Randy.

“I saw how much of a hard worker he is on and off the field. I see his work ethic and how dedicated he is to be the best quarterback and leader on the field,” Ryan said. “I could not be a prouder as a father. Yes, I get nervous, excited, and anxious when I see him play on Friday nights but to see him do something with his unique passion and see him excel in it, it makes me such a proud dad. He’s a great kid and a great football player.”

This season, Jack has thrown for 1,408 yards and 11 touchdowns and has completed 65.1 percent of his passes The Eagles started the season with a loss but he has led his team on a four-game winning streak that has brought their record to 4-1.

Rathan Ricedorff, quarterback coach at ALA, views his cousin playing every week as if it was his little brother out on the field.

“I believe viewing it that way has helped our relationship a whole lot because it makes it easier for us to communicate with each other because we know our personalities really well and it helps us to think of certain ways on how to help him become a better quarterback for this team,” Rathan said.

Slade acknowledged how special and unique it is to see an entire family supporting and pushing Jack to be the best player and human being he can be.

“I believe that it can be hard to see him (Jack) play under the success of what his family has had in the game of football,” Slade said. “But the thing about Jack is that he handles that pressure with such professionalism and it’s really beautiful to watch.”

Some people might say that because he is the nephew of the head coach, Jack is a favorite and gets a lot of minutes but Slade thinks otherwise.

“His uncle (Randy) and cousin (Rathan) push him to his maximum potential,” Slade said. “Every time Jack makes a bad throw or read, they are hard on him. They don’t do it in a malicious way, they do it because they know he has the talent and skills to make certain plays on the field.”

“Every single practice and game, he knows that he has to earn his spot and he knows that there is someone that is waiting for the opportunity to play his position,” Randy said. “But Jack has a special character that stands out from him everywhere he goes. In the locker room, the weight room, in the classroom, and on the football field. He’s a natural leader.”

After analyzing and seeing the support he gets on and off the field, Jack said he feels blessed that he can count on his family who are coaching him to be the best quarterback possible every single game.

“I’m extremely blessed to have my uncle (Randy), my cousin (Rathan), uncle-in-law (JT), and also my father (Ryan) on the sidelines every single game,” Jack said. “They are always encouraging and pushing to make sure I am trying to be the best version of myself and make sure that I’m the leader that this football team needs. I’m a very blessed kid.”

With his senior season almost finished, Jack wants to be remembered as a potential state champion but at the same time, he wants to be remembered for something bigger than that.

“I want to be remembered as a hard-working guy. In the weight room, the locker room, film room, on the field or whatever it is,” Jack said. “I want to be remembered as someone who grinded his way to get to where he is at. That’s how I want to be remembered.”

After graduation, Jack plans to serve on a church mission for two years and then play college football. Just like how his father, uncle, and cousins did. And the entire Ricedorff family couldn’t be more proud of the young man he is turning into.