It was obvious early on that coaching was in Mark Staten’s blood. After all, the Michigan State offensive line coach — who hails from Dowagiac — grew up around football.

His father Jerry, who played at Miami of Ohio for the late coaching great Bo Schembechler, was a high school football coach.

Staten recalls breaking down plays as he and his father watched football on Saturdays and Sundays.

“When I was a kid, I would take my football cards and put them in formation as I was watching teams and I would try to mimic the play that was going on the TV screen with my football cards,” he said. “I tried to make blocks happen, and if I did not have — like if the Bears were playing the Lions and I did not have the Lions’ defensive line I would just put a duplicate down there.

“I would try and arrange them into a certain formation or a certain defensive front and then dad and I would watch football on TV and try and figure out what they were trying to do. Then we would call the next play the way we could call it, and it was a lot of fun.”

But coaching would have to wait for Staten. First, he had to try out the game inside the helmet.

After a brilliant four-year career at Dowagiac, where he garnered looks from many colleges (including Michigan State). Staten chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend Miami of Ohio, which is known as the “Cradle of Coaches” as it has produced the likes of the late Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Schembechler and Randy Walker.

The college program has also produced current coaches Jim Tressel, Ron Zook, John Harbaugh and Sean Payton.

Playing primarily offensive line in high school, Staten switched to the defensive side of the football to become a standout for the Redhawks.

He was a four-year starter at Miami, earning All-Mid-American honors his senior year.