LARGO — When Marcus Paschal came home from college and pro football, he went back to what he knew best: coaching.
Thirteen seasons later, the former University of Iowa star still runs the Largo High football program — and his roster keeps looking more like a family reunion.
He has coached sons Myles and Maison. And nephew Andrew. And brother Bari William. And daughter Mikayla.
“I was born and raised here,” Paschal said. “And I will coach no other high school than Largo.”
The Packers return a solid core from a 7-5 team whose season ended with a 35-7 loss to eventual Class 6A state champion West Boca Raton. The champions won three of their other four playoff games by 31 points or more.
“We learned a lot,” Andrew said. “We had a pretty good first half. We fought. We learned we gotta play together and if you give up one big play, you have to stay together and hype your guys up to do better.”
Paschal enjoys coaching relatives — “It’s pretty cool” — but said he doesn’t treat them any differently, in part because he knows everyone else’s family, too.
“I think it’s about the same. I’m hard on everyone,” he said. “They’re sons and nephews and daughters and brothers. I played with their dads, who were my childhood buddies. So I get in the grill of everyone.”
Andrew, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior outside linebacker and safety, averaged more than seven tackles a game last season and has set a goal of 100. Paschal, who also is the defensive coordinator, runs a zone scheme built on quarters coverage.
“I’ve been calling signals. It’s been a good experience,” Andrew said. “With my uncle, it’s good to have another perspective. I feel I’m getting better and better. He wants me to be more aggressive.
“I love playing both positions. I like being closer to the ball. I like run support, coming down the alley to make a tackle.”
Myles, a sophomore defensive back, had three interceptions last season as he earned more playing time. His goal is to break his father’s school record of eight in a season.
“I played backup safety and some corner,” he said. “When I came in as a freshman, I worked on angles. I learned how to read the ball as well as the players.”
His father coached him in 12-and-under youth ball with the Largo Junior Packers, and Myles said the teaching hasn’t changed since.
“Nothing’s different,” he said.
The bigger challenge is adding weight. As his father put it: “He’s 155 pounds — soaking wet.”
Maison, a seventh-grader who plays quarterback and safety, may be the fastest of the bunch. “He’s an athlete,” Paschal said.
Track might be Maison’s best sport. He is a 22-time All-American, earning top-eight finishes in the 100-meter dash, the hurdles, the long jump and the shot put. His father taught him the hurdles.
“That’s my favorite,” Maison said. “Dad says don’t slow down when you get to the hurdle.”
Football brings different instructions. “He tells me not to hurry when I throw the ball and not to take long steps when reading a play,” Maison said.
Bari William finished fourth at state for Largo in 2024 with a long jump of 23 feet, 4 inches. He now competes at Bethune-Cookman.
Mikayla, whom Paschal also coached in track, scored 1,000 points at Largo before transferring to Lakewood for her final season. She plays at Miami-Dade College.
When the family gathers for cookouts, Paschal said, sports rarely comes up. Myles said his father downshifts once the season ends.
“On the field, he’s passionate,” Myles said. “Off the field, he’s more laid back.”
Largo
District: Class 5A-10
Schedule: Aug. 21 vs. Pinellas Park; Aug. 28 vs. Northeast; Sept. 4 at Tarpon Springs; Sept. 10 at Sickles; Sept. 18 at Clearwater; Sept. 25 vs. Gaither; Oct. 2 at Dunedin; Oct. 9 vs. East Lake; Oct. 16 at Mitchell; Oct. 30 vs. Osceola.