Listen Here
By Jordan Grimes
grimesj1@findlay.edu
@Jgrimes29
Fans of University of Findlay football might think they’re seeing double when reading some jerseys on the field. There are four sets of siblings on the team.
It is more likely to see brothers playing together in high school but college is more unique. The most visible is quarterback Jeremy Hunt and one of his main targets, his little brother Bryan. Jeremy has thrown five touchdowns to Bryan so far this season. Bryan has the most receiving touchdowns on the team.
Jeremy is a graduate student majoring in Professional Communication, while Bryan is a freshman, Sport Business Strategy Emphasis major. Both are from Oak Park, Illinois.
“I was really excited once I found out that we might have the chance to play together, and then when Findlay offered us both we were like ‘this is dope’,” Jeremy said. “It was like a dream come true.”
Not only was it a dream come true for Jeremy, but for Bryan as well.
“Playing on the field together is very exciting; it’s like we have a different type of connection,” Bryan said. “Catching passes from my brother in an actual college football game feels unreal.”
Jeremy and Bryan are just one of the sets of siblings on the team. There are also the Brancifort brothers from Pickerington, Ohio, the Farmer brothers from Louisville, Kentucky, and Kijana and Kwesi Caldwell from Chicago.
The Caldwell’s each took a different journey to UF. Kijana came right from high school and thanks to COVID is playing as a sixth-year senior while he earns his Master of Business Administration degree. Kwesi transferred in from the University of Indianapolis and is a junior Journalism/Digital Media Major.
“When I was looking to leave the school I was at, finding a new home was easy, my brother was already on the team,” Kwesi said. “It was a no-brainer that we should play together.”
Kwesi knew they couldn’t pass up this opportunity of playing with each other.
“Being able to learn from my brother will be special because I know he wants what’s best for me no matter what,” Kwesi said.
Kijana the age difference meant they never got to play at the same time in the past. But due to COVID and other circumstances, they get the chance of a lifetime.
“We always had the dream to play with each other since we were kids, but there was never an opportunity due to our large age gap,” said Kijana.
Not only is it special for the players, but also special for head coach Kory Allen.
“Their families felt comfortable enough to send them here after their older brothers have already been here,” Allen said.
He says it is an honor to coach siblings because that means their family trusts him, and the Oiler football program.
“To me that says a lot about their comfortability with the program,” Allen said. “I think it’s pretty neat seeing them play with each other and connect, fans only see it in a game but I see it in practice which is even more special because I get to see the connections being built.”
