With high school football in Arizona kicking off this week, I asked some prominent college coaches and professional players in the Valley about their high school experiences.

While they all went on to bigger things, apparently those things weren’t better than high school football. Playing alongside friends, in front of family and for communities formed some of their fondest memories.

Herm Edwards

Arizona State football coach

Monterey (California) High, Class of 1972

“I say this all the time to high school coaches: They are really the foundation of football. I don’t think, sometimes, high school coaches understand the impact they make on young guys. There are things I learned from my coach, Dan Albert, that I still apply as a coach. He’s 90 years old. He’s still in my life. I talked to him yesterday.

“For me, it was  wonderful experience. When I really look back at it, it set my foundation.

We only lost one game in three years. It was remarkable. We had four guys on my high school team who played pro football. He had great teams for years. He (Albert) is legendary. Fundamentals were big to him. We didn’t do a lot but what we did, we were fundamentally sound. We had great stamina as a team, and we were a physical football team.

“I see a couple of them (teammates) every once in a while. Some of them have passed away. I see Coach (Albert). He still lives in the same house as when he was coaching and teaching. He’s come to our games. He’ll call me every other week.

“I’m just happy for the kids and coaches in the area, that they’re getting to play. They were like us, just waiting.”

Marvin Lewis

ASU co-defensive coordinator

Fort Cherry High, McDonald, Pennsylvania, Class of 1976

“Our class is very, very close. We still, every five years, have our reunions and they’re well attended. I coached in the AFC North for 26 of my 27 years in the NFL, so I wasn’t very far from them, growing up outside of Pittsburgh. I saw a lot of those guys all the time. They would travel to Cincinnati for games. I was blessed to still have contact with a lot of my classmates.

“(Football) was huge from the time I was a little kid. My dad would take me to games, and we wouldn’t spend much time looking at the games. We would be playing football on the field behind the field. Then as a 9th grader, having a chance to dress for the varsity games, it was huge.

“For the guys who it’s their last season of football, you think about the relationships you make with your high school teammates and that this is the last time to go out and there and have the opportunity to compete with them. So I think that is huge and I’m sure they’re excited about that and feel blessed to be able to do that. I just hope everybody can stay safe through this.

“We know the challenges of this, and you don’t want anybody to have lingering effects from being stricken by the virus.”

Kliff Kingsbury

Cardinals coach

New Braunfels (Texas), Class of 1998

“I was very fortunate to play in that storybook small, Texas high school town where they turn the lights off in town and everybody comes out to the game on Friday night. Then to play for your dad and your mom is a teacher at your high school, it’s kind of a “Friday Night Lights” scenario.

“It was phenomenal. Those people in the community, they helped raise us all. And every Friday night was a celebration of young people, whether you were in the band, football team or drill team or cheerleaders. It was a great celebration in our town, and it meant the world to me.”

DeAndre Hopkins

Cardinals receiver

D.W. Daniel High School, Central, South Carolina, Class of 2010

“My high school is made up of three towns. Clemson, Central and Six Mile. I grew up in Clemson. I grew up playing with family members on my high school team. We played together growing up and we always had fun. Nothing changed in high school. We never made it to the championship in football but we did in basketball.

“Something I would tell kids is just go out and have fun. Don’t worry about getting letters from colleges. Just do what you did in middle school and little league.”

D.J. Foster

Cardinals running back

Scottsdale Saguaro High, Class of 2012

“I got really lucky to be in high school at a time and in a program that had an established culture. It was really awesome for me to be around a great group of guys and a great group of coaches. They established a culture for me that set me up to play at ASU and to still play today.

“I’ve gotten to be a part of, with New England, winning a Super Bowl, but it (high school) is pure. You’re with guys you grew up with. Your family, your parents are in the stands every week. It’s tradition and culture. It’s a memory that a lot of guys, no matter how far they go in football, they hold on to those high school days  just because of how pure it was.

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“For a lot of guys, it’s the beginning of their steps to becoming an overall football player. And for a lot of guys that’s kind of where the road ends, and that’s OK. It’s a small percentage of people who get to go play college football. For a lot of guys, those are the memories they hold on to very strong because it’s the last time they play organized sports with their friends. Even with guys, like myself, who go on, who are still playing. (High school) is a different feeling.”

Kyler Murray

Cardinals quarterback

Allen (Texas) High School, Class of 2015 

“Being in high school, all the guys who were in college, who played in the NFL would come back and say it’s the best time of their lives, playing high school football with friends they grew up with. Although I moved to Allen (before sophomore season), some of my closest friends were on that team. Time flies as soon as you leave high school.

“If I could, I would go back in a heartbeat. It was that much fun. It’s a time you’ll never get back. That’s kind of where it all starts. I think those kids should cherish every second of it.”

Reach Kent Somers at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers. Hear Somers every Monday and Friday at 7:30 a.m. on The Drive with Jody Oehler on Fox Sports 910 AM.

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