C.J. Beathard and hometown pal Shuler are foes again

LOS ANGELES — OK, this is kind of eerie:

Iowa starting quarterback C.J. Beathard and Stanford starting center Graham Shuler are both from Franklin, Tenn., and are both fourth-year juniors.

That in itself is just coincidence. But there's more. Beathard's father, Casey Beathard, is a prominent Nashville songwriter. Shuler's mother, Kim Hill, is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter.

Beathard's younger brother, Tucker Beathard, is a country singer who has a recording contract. Shuler's younger brother, Benji Shuler (his stage name is simply 'Benji) has a recording contract.

Beathard's father played football at Elon University before turning to music. Shuler's father, Rob Shuler, played left tackle at Auburn and blocked for Bo Jackson.

Friday, Beathard and Shuler will be on opposite sidelines at the Rose Bowl.

'It's pretty cool,' Beathard said. 'We're friends. I've actually talked to him in the past couple weeks.'

'I'm a huge C.J. fan,' Shuler said. 'I love watching his journey at Iowa. I'm excited for him for this year and what's to come.'

Beathard attended Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. Shuler went to school at Brentwood Academy, in neighboring Brentwood.

'I lived five minutes from C.J.'s school,' Shuler said.

Beathard attended Battle Ground Academy. Shuler went to Brentwood Academy. So how did their teams' head-to-head battles turn out?

In 2010, Brentwood won, 49-23. In 2011, it was Brentwood again, 45-28. Beathard was intercepted three times in that game.

'However many times we played them, we won,' Shuler said with a laugh. 'In whatever sport.'

Comments: mike.hlas@thegazette.com

To see a continuously updated collection of columns, stories and videos from Rose Bowl week, go to my Facebook page. Click here to subscribe.