Breaking news:Navy Shuler Decommited from Vols, flip his commitment to Florida Gator…
Breaking news:Navy Shuler Decommited from Vols, flip his commitment to Florida Gator…
Navy Shuler walks through the downstairs hallway of his Asheville home, stopping to look at the framed photos of his father that crowd the walls.
The images wrap around the hallway to create an almost linear history of Heath Shuler’s public life. It begins with him as the University of Tennessee’s star quarterback, where he finished as a Heisman runner-up in 1993 before being selected by the Washington Redskins as the No. 3 overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft.
There are pictures of Heath with former college and NFL teammates, and another of him posing with Super Bowl champions Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. His personal favorite — a postgame moment with Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman — was taken right after his NFL debut.
Navy’s eyes move from the right wall to the left, where the photos then turn from helmets and high-fives to suits and smiles.
Heath served North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District from 2007-13, a time that is documented in photo ops with high-profile politicians on both sides of the aisle, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
“There is an expectation that comes with playing, with my last name,” Navy said. “You get publicity and a spotlight that you wouldn’t normally get, but you are also always in the shadow of his accomplishments. I’m striving to make my own name, but it’s always going to be there.”
Heath Shuler led Swain County to three consecutive state titles from 1988 through 1990. His picture graces the entrance to the school’s hall of fame and still hangs at the popular Bryson City restaurant Na-bers Drive-In, where he’s lauded as a hero by employees. Navy Shuler brought Christ School to the NCISAA Division I state championship last year before the Greenies fell to Charlotte Christian.
Navy enters his final season as Christ School’s quarterback with expectations based on his talent but amplified by a famous father who became a local star at the same age. Daily, he faces the question of where his football legacy will rank in his own family and if one day, it will stand up on its own. But if Navy has learned one thing from his father, it’s that it’s OK to carve his own path.
“I think the most important thing I can do as a father is teach him the important lessons that I’ve learned,” Heath said. “I have the desire to teach him all that I know, but there are a lot of ways that Navy is way ahead of where I was at his age.”
Christ School senior quarterback Navy Shuler and his dad, former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, in the backyard of their home on July 2, 2019.
