Notre Dame football captain and sixth-year linebacker, Jack Kiser, has been in the middle of an eventful week as he led his team to a dominant 28-3 win against Miami, toppling a lackluster start of the season. However, the glaring spotlight didn’t make him forget his roots, the Pioneer High School, where he wholeheartedly belongs, even after so many years of stepping away. He initiated a ticket giveaway program for Saturday’s game for 100 youth football players from his former school. His impact was so profound that the other kids in the school wanted to be ‘Not an NFL or college football player but ‘Jack Kiser.’

However, the soul attachment to his school and the community is just an extended part of his affinity with his dad, mom, and the entire Kiser family.

Who Are Jack Kiser’s Parents?

The Royal Center grew up in an organic athletic culture in his family. Father Aron Kiser was a discuss-thrower and short-putter at Purdue University. When Jack was in second grade, his father, Aaron, used to be the coach of the third-grade team for his alma mater, Pioneer Youth League. He offered his son the opportunity to suit up for the games only if he practiced with the team throughout. But Jack, the most humble and sensible kid in the suburb, didn’t want to bother] any third-grade player by taking an unnecessary favor. However, he once surprised his dad with an impromptu tackle when an assistant coach propelled him to contribute to the defense.

Mom, Deborah, also had her fair share in raising four athletic kids in the family. As a three-sport athlete at Penn High School in Mishawaka, she instilled passion and discipline among the kids. ”We are a very structured family. There’s a farm, there’s chores. They didn’t have a cell phone until they were 16. There is no dating until then.” a strict mother instinct spoke up. That said, Mom knows how much of a kind, calm soul her youngest one (Jack Kiser) is both on and off the field. He used to be there, helping everyone in need. The coaches and captains out there wanted their kids to be like Jack. This is nothing but a great testimony of how his mother didn’t only impose the chain of harsh regulations on her kids but also the right amount of empathy and emotion to nurture them.

Also, there has been much leeway in a hardcore sports family where Jack could break his family tradition to choose Notre Dame over Purdue University for his sophomore years.

Jack Kiser: an outlier among his family tree

Kiser was never meant to end up at Notre Dame. After all, he is coming from an outright Purdue family. Bonnie Motter, Kiser’s grandmother, served as longtime secretary to the late Ara Parseghian after his retirement as Notre Dame football coach. His uncle, Brian, was an All-American in the discus for the Boilermakers. His brother, Sam, is a student at Purdue. The only anomaly was his older brother Bryce, the Illinois State alumna, who made the path for Jack to walk in a different path. But still, the decision was a hard call for Jack. He reevaluated a lot of things before joining the force with his top choice. It is not that he found Purdue a wrong choice, but as the trailblazer noted, ”When I came on a visit to Notre Dame, you walk on campus and it’s different. There’s no way I could’ve turned down Notre Dame.”

Now, the tricky situation arises whenever Notre Dame and the Boilermakers meet each other in a game. Thankfully, the Kiser family had the maturity to deal with it with complete sanity. Donning the gold and black, they rooted for Kiser to play well but cheered for Purdue to win.

”I never felt like he should automatically go to Purdue. It needed to be his decision. It needed to be the right fit for him. We’re really happy with where he decided to go,’‘ a Purdue faithful and loving father balanced it out.

If you want to know about other nitty-gritty of college football, you can refer to our ES Think Tank interview with Doug Sanders, founder of Sanders Sports and Entertainment.