Brendan Boman hasn't had the easiest path to finding the football field at Davenport University after starting his college career at Central Michigan.
"I went to Central Michigan out of high school," Boman recalled. "I transferred out of there, took a year off from football, wasn't sure if I wanted to play again and kind of lost it."
But Brendan's dad, Jack, wasn't having it.
"He wasn't happy," Boman said. "His two favorite things were football and hockey."
Boman would find that love for football again and Davenport head coach Sparky McEwen brought him in.
It was an opportunity that did not go unnoticed by Brendan or his dad.
"His favorite thing in the world was watching me play football," Boman said about his father. "Me coming here especially, he loved it here, he loved the opportunity that Sparky gave me, loved Sparky for it."
Jack Boman was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and passed away just weeks ago.
"He died in August, the first week of August he passed," an emotional Boman said. "This is going to be a special year considering he was always in the stands."
McEwen says Mr. Boman was one of the biggest Panther fans out there and his passing hit everyone in the program hard.
"The entire defensive line went to the service for his dad," McEwen said. "His dad was a huge, huge, huge Panther fan, it was a sad time to lose Mr. Boman when we did but we know he'll be here with us in spirit."
As Boman gets set for his redshirt senior season he's ready to make it a big fall, all in memory of his father.
"Just stay close with them," Boman said. "Don't take anything for granted and any moments for granted."
