Kyle Samson told his father if he ever had the chance to be the head coach of a college football team, he'd transfer schools to play for him.
So, after playing his freshman season for the University of Montana, the undersized quarterback transferred to Montana State University-Northern, simply so he could play under the guidance his father Mark Samson.
"It was a big change at first, going from Montana to coming up here," Samson said. "I knew it was going to be a big challenge."
The result of Kyle's move is written in the MSUN football history books.
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound quarterback owns several Lights' rushing records - including career yards (1,434) and career carries (378) - and is beginning to make his mark on the team's passing records after tossing a school-best 12 touchdowns and completing 64 percent of his passes last season. Not to mention, he's an NAIA.org preseason All-American.
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"He's got a mindset where he wants to be heavily involved," said Mark Samson, who enters his third season as MSUN head coach.
Last season, Kyle burned Dickinson State for 217 passing yards, two touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground en route to MSUN's 32-17 victory in both team's season opener.
Blue Hawks coach Hank Biesoit knows his defense must contain the dual-threat quarterback if they wants to beat MSUN in their season opener at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Whitney Stadium.
"Not only is he a smart, good player, he's got very good quickness and a very good arm," Biesoit said. "He's got that ability to take a bad play and turn it into a good one."
Kyle said the transition from a NCAA Division I-AA powerhouse to a NAIA school, which at the time was near the bottom of the Frontier Conference, was a bit of a change. However, he added that playing for his father and with his brother - Marc Samson is an MSUN junior defensive back and preseason All-American - helped the transition.
"We have a very good relationship as a player and a coach, not just a father and a son," Kyle said. "It helps us out a lot just because we see things the same way."
