Cobber Program Runs Deep In The Family

Offutt is the man whose donation to the newly constructed Offutt School of Business on the Concordia campus was the single-largest gift in the college's history. The amount was never disclosed, but it did surpass the previous high of $7.5 million.

Offutt's name can be seen on the Offutt Concourse, which connects the Olson Sports and Fitness Forum to Memorial Auditorium. He also contributed an undisclosed amount for Concordia's new football locker room.

But on this day – a day Griffin Neal and his Cobbers teammates thought the Bethel jinx would end – the Offutt name was all about football and family, not donations.

"Most teachers don't know I'm his grandson, because I have a different last name," said Neal, whose mother, Shelly, is one of Offutt's six children. "I kind of enjoy that. Only some of my closest friends and certain teachers know. It's something I never really show or share with people. But you are just proud when you walk into a building with his name on it."

Despite watching his grandson throw only his second interception of the season, Offutt was still beaming with pride. And for good reason. Neal, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior from Fargo South High School, is 557 yards shy of becoming the all-time passing leader at Concordia.

"He understands the game a lot better than I ever did," said Offutt, who was an all-conference nose guard for the Cobbers in 1962 and 1963.

Word has it Offutt was a feisty player, who rubbed opposing coaches, players and even his own teammates the wrong way.

"You know what happens with old age? Things tend to get exaggerated with those kind of stories," said Offutt, who opted for the word "aggressive" to describe his style of play.

That toughness, which Offutt also relied on for the Cobbers wrestling team, doesn't fall far from the tree. Not only is Offutt spending his fall weekends to watch Neal play, he finds time to watch another grandson – Connor McGovern – play for the University of Missouri.

McGovern, the son of Offutt's daughter Rondi, is a starting offensive lineman for nationally ranked Missouri – which happened to have Saturday off. That was just fine with Offutt.

"I tend to favor Griffin, because after this year, he is done," Offutt said. "Next year, Connor will get 100 percent of my attention. I try to make it to all the games. The way I Iook at it, it's a once-in-a-lifetime event. It won't last forever."

That's why Neal's other grandparents from Kansas City, his sister from Denver and an uncle from New York showed up for Saturday's game. They were there to console Neal after Saturday's loss.

But Neal is well aware he and his teammates have five more games to play knowing, with only one loss, they are capable of reaching the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2005.

"I think we do a good job of rebounding and not hanging our heads," said Neal, who hopes to use his business management major someday and work in the family business – which is R.D. Offutt Co., the nation's largest producer of potatoes, and RDO Equipment Co., which owns the largest network of John Deere construction and agricultural dealerships in the country.

But for now, football is on Neal's mind – just as it was for Ron Offutt back in 1963.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for these kids that play today," Offutt said. "The athletes are bigger, faster, stronger. The kids of today have weight training and everything that goes along with that. When we were going to school, that was never part of the program.

"The amount of time these kids dedicate is unreal. They are just a whole lot more dedicated than we were."

His grandson is hoping that will help get the Cobbers into the playoffs.