How does a girl born-and-raised in Kalihi become a Clemson football fan?
For Jennifer Castillo-Passmore it was natural.
She is a University High and University of Hawaii graduate who has lived in Gainesville, Ga., since 1994, when Castillo-Passmore, her husband, Mark, and their baby boy, Skyler, moved from Hawaii for family reasons.
Two more sons, Keelan and Austin, were born in Georgia.
In 2007, Castillo-Passmore watched Keelan play in an all-star basketball tournament. He wore number 4 and was his team’s leading scorer. Number 4 on the opposing team also led his team in points — and pretty much everything else, too.
“We had to play them three times in that tournament and they beat us,” Castillo-Passmore said. “And my first impression was ‘OK, this kid is really good.’ He was a shooting guard, like Keelan. He never missed a free throw, which I thought, at that age, was really good. It was obvious he was very talented.”
“He” was Deshaun Watson, the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and starting quarterback for Clemson in today’s College Football Playoff national championship game against Alabama.
“They knew of each other, but didn’t meet each other until after the tournament,” she said of Keelan and Deshaun.
The boys became teammates on travel ball squads and good friends off the court. Castillo-Passmore was the team mom and scorekeeper. Her house was often a gathering spot, with the boys hanging out in the game room.
Although they competed against each other at rival high schools, their friendship grew.
Keelan played basketball at Piedmont College and is headed to medical school. Keelan’s roommate is another good friend of both, Chase Wallace, who was Deshaun’s center on the Gainesville High football team.
“He’s like Shaun, a quiet homebody, reserved,” Castillo-Passmore said of Keelan, who declined to be interviewed for this story out of respect for what little privacy Deshaun enjoys. “The adults talk and brag about (Watson’s) character, but not his (peer group) friends.”
Castillo-Passmore confirms from the eyes of someone who watched him grow up that all of the stories about Watson’s good works, positive attitude and genuine humility are true. The traits sound like those of Marcus Mariota.
“I’ve never met Marcus, but from what I’ve heard, yes, very much so,” Castillo-Passmore said of the comparison. “Shaun was always very polite. … He doesn’t speak until spoken to, even as he got older. Never got involved in drama stuff. … He always remembers everyone from his childhood. I might be on the other end of the gym, he will come all the way over and give me a hug and say ‘Hi, Miss Jen.’”
Watson’s quiet leadership skills were evident at an early age, she said.
“You see the respect the teammates would give him, and vice versa, on and off the court,” she said. “Just how they talk to each other. He would never cut anyone down, and they wouldn’t about him. Not opponents either. Not even joking … maybe, as he got older. He’ll dance a little bit to celebrate, he has his moments. But he’s extremely polite, and everything is positive from him. It’s for real.”
So is his desire to help others, Castillo-Passmore said.
“I became a fan of him not just because he’s my son’s friend, but because the more I saw him on the football team and the basketball team I saw his generosity, helping kids. Even the underclassmen as he got older. It’s easy for someone who is popular and talented to just be a star. But he stays involved with the community and youth.
Castillo-Passmore also is friends with Watson’s mother Deann, whose battle with tongue cancer is well-documented. So is the family’s association with Habitat for Humanity — first as a beneficiary and then with Deshaun volunteering in the program that helps single mothers own new homes.
“I know Deann had to volunteer countless hours before they got the house,” Castillo-Passmore said. “She’s like her son, humble but strong. And she was never one of the parents to rush over to me after a game and ask how many points her son scored.”
Castillo-Passmore’s schedule as manager for the emergency room physicians at three campuses for Northeast Georgia Medical Center and a part-time job at an elementary school have kept her too busy to see Watson play in person.
“I had tickets for the Georgia Tech game, but had to give them up,” she said. “It’s rare that I wear orange, but I’ll be wearing orange to work (Monday).”
