Minnesota football coach Tim Brewster didn’t take long ushering in the new “Gophers football era” with his son on board.

Clint Brewster, a four-star quarterback recruit out of J.K. Mullen High School in Denver, signed Wednesday with his father’s new football program.

“We’re very excited that he’s going to be a Gopher,” coach Brewster said.

Clint, who passed for 2,257 yards and 27 touchdowns during his senior season, is the 24th-best quarterback in the nation according to Scout.com.

As of last weekend, Clint still held a verbal commitment to Illinois – his father’s alma mater. But this week turned the tides, and on paper Minnesota looks to have nabbed one or the nation’s premier recruits.

“He’s a very, very good player, I knew he could help us win some games here,” coach Brewster said. “I reached out to him and recruited him as coach Brewster – I never recruited him like dad.”

The Brewster duo marks the second father-son combination to currently don maroon and gold on campus. The other is coach Don Lucia coaches his son Tony on the men’s hockey team.

Such a combination, in fact, is not uncommon recently on the ice. Former Gophers men’s hockey coach Doug Woog coached his son Dan from 1993-1997.

Brewster will get that rare opportunity to coach his son during the next few seasons, but he did it at the expense of hometown talent that verbally committed to Minnesota.

Quarterback Phil Haig, of Henry Sibley, wasn’t on the list of signed recruits today despite being on board less than a week ago.

Haig, a solid verbal commitment just a week ago, remained skeptical once coach Brewster signed on as head coach because his son might follow him to campus.

It happened, and Haig did not sign as of today.

But coach Brewster seems optimistic about the signing, as well as the battle for starting quarterback that will begin as early as spring practice.

“We’ve got a couple of outstanding quarterbacks on campus already,” Brewster said. “Every position on this team is going to be wide open – we’re going to have outstanding competition.”

Bryan Cupito, the Gophers’ all-time statistical leader in virtually every passing category, left a glaring void in the middle of an offense returning much of its talent.

Quarterbacks Tony Mortensen and Adam Weber looked to be the frontrunners for the open spot heading into the season, and with the emergence of Brewster’s signing, it should be an interesting competition.

But with the excitement comes reality, and coach Brewster admits Clint harbored apprehension toward signing with his dad.

“He had a tremendous amount of trepidation about playing for me at the U,” coach Brewster said. “To tell you the truth he didn’t want to do it (but) I didn’t want to play against my son.”

Still, it’s a rare opportunity that the coach said he is looking forward to.

And while most parents take the opportunity to watch their children every chance they get, coach Brewster will help mold his son into the player he’ll become.

“I’ve spent a great deal of time coaching other people’s children in my life,” coach Brewster said. “What I’m excited about is the fact that I’m gonna get a chance to watch my son and see him grow as a player her at this great university.”