Beach Magazine Dec 2015

eceiver received a scholarship to play for legendary coach Don
Coryell at San Diego State University.
“When I played at SDSU in 1970, it was the first year that college
football went to single digit numbers on uniforms,” Featherstone said.
“I was the smallest guy on the team and Coach Coryell asked me how
I felt about wearing number 1. I said ‘Hey, I‘m just happy to wear the
uniform.’ The lockers in the stadium were in numerical order, so
mine was the first one in line, next to the coach’s office. Coryell never
dressed in the coach’s office. He wanted to be close to his players, so
he would hang up his red coat and get dressed in my cubicle. He was
very superstitious. Even on road games, he would dress in my locker,
so we formed a tight bond.”
As a junior, Featherstone’s offensive prowess helped propel SDSU
to the 1969 Pasadena Bowl and what would be the highlight of his
playing career.
“I had a dream the night before the game about playing in Pasadena
and having a good game,” Featherstone recalled. “Our star receiver,
Tommy Reynolds was injured and our second-string receiver pulled a
hamstring in warm ups, so I was thrust into the starting role.”
Featherstone scored two touchdowns in the Aztecs’ win in front of
52,000 fans and was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player.
With an unblemished 11-0 record, SDSU finished 12th in the
National AP Poll.
Featherstone received a bachelor’s degree from SDSU in 1970,
majoring in journalism with a minor in physical education. The following
year, he began his coaching career as the Aztec’s wide receiver
coach. He said Coryell had the largest impact on his career, not just
by giving him his first coaching job, but because of his offensive
genius.
Featherstone believes Coryell never received the recognition he
deserved, though he went on to become the head coach of the St.
Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Chargers. He was the first coach
to have 100 victories at the college and professional levels.
Featherstone earned a master’s degree in physical education from
SDSU in 1973. During the next four years, he served as quarterback
and wide receiver coach for Grossmont College, helping the Griffins
win a state championship in 1974.
At Grossmont, Featherstone became hooked on coaching and
thinking of it as a career. He traced his decision chiefly to his involvement
in play calling and the opportunity to coach Player of the Year
Joe Roth. The talented quarterback would become an All-American
at UC Berkeley before cancer took his life in 1977.
“Joe was a tremendous talent,” Featherstone said. “I was the one
who discovered the mole on his temple. I would see it bleeding every
day. I asked him if he had ever had it checked? ‘Oh, it’s nothing, it
scabs over.’ he told me.
In 1975, Featherstone replaced future St. Louis Rams head coach
Mike Martz at San Diego Mesa College, where he worked as offensive
coordinator and mentored future SDSU All-American quarterback
Matt Kofler.
Returning to SDSU as wide receiver coach in 1980, Featherstone
coached under Claude Gilbert and with future NFL coaches Doug
Scovil and Brian Billick. Featherstone has also worked alongside star
coaches Rod Dowhower, Ernie Zampese and Ted Tollner.
In 1982, Featherstone joined the UC Berkeley program under head
coach and former NFL great Joe Kapp. But one year in the Bay Area
was enough for the Southern California native. Featherstone
returned the following year to become offensive coordinator at Santa
Ana College. In 1985, he returned to the South Bay, replacing future
NFL assistant coach Jack Reilly as El Camino’s head coach.
“I was so excited to return to El Camino,” Featherstone said. “We
had two good seasons when I played for the Warriors under Ken
Swearingen, who was another great influence on me. I’ve been very
fortunate to have been associated with good teams, especially good
quarterbacks.
“When you look at our offense, we have averaged more than 20
22 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • December 10, 2015