'Football is family' for the McJunkins at College of the Sequoias
Football is family, family is football.
That's the McJunkin family motto.
Why?
Well, football has been a part of the McJunkins' lives for more than three decades — in-season and off-season.
Donovan McJunkin started coaching in 1993 at Burroughs High School and landed in Tulare County in 1998 when he accepted the head coaching position at Exeter High School.
McJunkin served as the Monarchs' head coach for two seasons before going to make stops as an assistant at Granite Hills, El Diamante and Mission Oak.
Today, McJunkin is the assistant head coach at College of the Sequoias. He gets the rare opportunity nearly every day to coach college football alongside his son, Trey, the Giants' passing game coordinator and receivers coach.
Trey, a former quarterback, is still the all-time passing yards leader at Mission Oak. He played college football at Fresno City, Western Illinois and Fort Hays State.
Donovan also coached Trey in high school.
"It's fun," Donovan said. "To be honest, I think his experience is different than mine. He started off as a college coach. He was a G.A. [grad assistant] at Fort Hays and he has that four-year experience whereas I started at the high school level. I've learned as much from him in terms of watching him coach and the passion he has for it. That's really exciting to see the passion that he has and realizing that he's going to make a career out of this and do really, really well."
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What's it like to coach with his father?
"It's been really cool," Trey said. "I mean, like my dad said, it's kind of wholesome, I guess, to say just because having him as my high school coach, and him molding me in the way I see football, going junior college route to Fresno City, Western Illinois, Fort Hay State, going through a bunch of different systems, a bunch of different coaches then coming back to be able to bounce ideas off him and see how he's evolved as a coach, as a man. It's the same thing for me, as a player, coach and man. It's a different level of respect between us. It's just awesome being on the sidelines. We'll joke around before games, after games, during practice. We try to keep it light, but at the same time, we know we have to get work done and it's got to be detailed because we got to do right by these kids."
A sports family
Almost everything Trey knows about football came from his dad — how to throw the ball, how to catch, how to read defenses.
Trey was a three-year starting quarterback at Mission Oak from 2013-15. He capped off his prep career as the school’s record holder in passing yards (5,903) and touchdown passes (77). He guided the Hawks to two East Yosemite League championships and an appearance in the Central Section Division IV title game in 2013.
During that breakout sophomore season, Trey passed for 2,161 yards and 29 touchdowns to lead the Hawks to a 12-1 record.
Who does Trey credit for his love for football?
Dad.
“I think he was the first real hero that I had in terms of football,” Trey said. “I just remember as a little kid, the first real passion I had for it was when I came up the stairs one day and he was just watching NFL football, I just kind of sat down with him one day and watched it all day long. It’s just that first initial bond. It’s been that way ever since. We’re always talking football, whether it’s NFL, college, high school, like, something’s going on. He’s always been an instant connection to everything.”
Donovan doesn’t take full credit for Trey’s passion for sports.
Instead, he put the spotlight on his wife, Chris, Trey’s mom.
Chris played college softball at Cal State Bakersfield. It’s her athletic genes that were passed onto Trey and Donovan’s daughter, Katy.
Katy was a four-year starter in softball at El Diamante. In a Miners’ uniform, she hit a career .461 with 182 hits, 131 runs, 115 RBI, 29 doubles, six triples and four home runs.
Donovan also had the opportunity to coach Katy, who went on to suit up in college at Purdue and Oregon State.
"That was a great experience," Donovan said. "It was exciting. At first, you're not really sure about what to expect but I think we've been an athletic family. My wife is the one who's the athlete. She played college softball. Four years of college softball. It's something that we did. It was just sort of natural. It was a real good experience for both of us, as much as it could be.”
Father-son coaching duo
After Trey graduated from Mission Oak, Donovan stepped away from coaching to watch his son play in college.
That took him to Fresno, Illinois and Kansas.
“I wanted to enjoy watching him play,” Donovan said.
When COS hired Travis Burkett as the new Giants football coach in 2020, Donovan reached out to him and was added to the coaching staff.
Donovan is now in year four at COS. He coaches the tight ends and fullbacks and also serves as the program’s director of NCAA Placement.
Did he ever imagine he would get the chance to coach with his son in college?
“No,” Donovan said. “I never thought that we would. I thought that I would enjoy watching him coach but it’s been fun.”
Donovan has worn a lot of hats during his son’s football journey — dad, coach, fan and now colleague.
Which one is his favorite?
“That’s a good question,” Donovan said. “I think sometimes, I don’t ever think I watch him as a dad. You kind of critique and you sort of see that as a coach. That was a joy. I really enjoyed coaching him but watching him play at Fresno City, Western Illinois and Fort Hays, that was, as far as being a dad, that was a fun part. But also being able to talk to him professionally as coaches, ‘Hey.’ We can have that conversation of what he saw, what I saw. I mean, that’s sort of nice. That’s one of my wife’s favorite things is hearing us talk football because she’s been around it the whole time as well. Hearing us talk football makes her excited about it too.”
Trey does a little bit of everything as a coach.
On top of his receiver position coaching duties, he assists on special teams with the returners on kickoff and punt.
The McJunkins are both offensive-oriented coaches.
Their impact on the Giants has been felt this season.
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COS is averaging 30.2 points per game and has won three straight after starting the season with back-to-back losses.
During that three-game win streak, the Giants scored 42 points in a win over San Joaquin Delta, dropped 40 in an overtime victory at Shasta College and are coming off a 28-14 decision against Diablo Valley College.
“I’m trying to do the best that I can for my receivers and the team as a whole,” Trey said. “And I know that he is doing the same. It’s an awesome experience to say the minimum.”
A core memory for the McJunkins was made in COS’ season opener in September when both shared a sideline for the first as coaches for an official game.
That moment was so unique that the father-son coaching duo even made time to take a picture.
“It was pretty surreal just to recognize that moment,” Trey said. “We just talked to each other and said we love each other. That’s a special moment and not a lot of people get to do that, you know. There are a lot of parents out there who wish they got the chance. There are a lot of sons out there who wish they got the chance. I’m taking every moment of it just because, you know, I don’t know if this would ever be the same. Just like in high school, after high school, I thought he was done coaching. When this job opportunity opened up, I wanted to take it right off the jump and coach Burkett contacted me and asked me about it. I was interested immediately because of the opportunity to coach alongside my dad and coach Burkett, who’s a very successful football coach. There was no doubt in my mind I wanted to coach here.”
COS (3-2) will host Fresno City (2-3) on Saturday for its Valley Conference opener at Sequoias Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The Giants will be holding a Rivalry Tailgate contest for best food and spirit. The top three tailgates will receive a prize during the game.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: 'Football is family' for the McJunkins at College of the Sequoias
