BROCKPORT, N.Y. – You could say football is the family business for the Venuto family. Sam Venuto began the tradition when he started his career at Guilford College as a running back. The four-year starter and all-conference player moved on to the National Football League, playing for the Washington Redskins.
 
The tradition continued, as sons Sam Venuto Jr. and Jay Venuto, each went on to play Division I football. Jay Venuto, whose career at Wake Forrest included an ACC Player of the Year pick, also saw time in the NFL for the then Baltimore Colts and New York Jets. It only makes sense that the third-generation of Venuto boys continue the tradition.
 
"My father never put any pressure on me," commented Jay's son, Chase Venuto, senior quarterback for The College at Brockport. "I could do anything I wanted to do. But football was a game I fell in love with early on, and I wanted to work hard and I wanted to work with him."
 
Chase was introduced to football at a young age, and like any family business, it took root early on. Growing up with an older brother, Chase saw how football played a role in his brother Garrett's life. Seeing his father work and train his brother made football look less like work but more like family bonding.
 
"Watching how hard [Garrett] worked to get to the biggest stage in college football, it was everything that I needed to see to know it was what I wanted to do," recalled Chase.
 
So after leading Ithaca High School to a section championship, the quarterback with a 60 percent completion rating was ready to take on the college world. The College at Brockport seemed to be a fit, and Chase, now in his final season, is still happy with the choice he made to become a Golden Eagle.
 
"Brockport for me was the best fit academically and athletically," noted Chase. "I knew right away that with Coach Mangone, that he was a very intense coach. Exactly like my father."
 
And Chase continued to follow in his father's footsteps in other ways. As a quarterback at Wake Forrest, Jason "Jay" Venuto worked hard to get on the field, and in the end, it paid off with several notable wins.
 
Chase, stepping on to the Campus of The College at Brockport, knew he would have to pay his dues as well. Being a reserve, he never knew when his number would be called. And in the 2013 season, it was called, in the biggest game of the season. With championship implications on the line, Chase entered the game and did pretty well. Leading a 22-point fourth quarter Golden Eagle charge, Chase helped secure a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Title.
 
The following season, Chase had plans to sit out the season, preserving a year of eligibility in an effort to guarantee more playing time in the future. However, those plans had to change, as two quarterbacks sustained injury, and Chase's number was called again. Without missing a beat, the quarterback sacrificed a full year of eligibility to return to his team.
 
Chase took a total of 18 snaps in practice before stepping on to the field for Coach Mangone and the Golden Eagles in the 10th annual Courage Bowl, in front of nearly 10,000 fans. Brockport fell in that game, but picked up three more wins before the end of the season.
 
"I'd been put in that situation before, and I did what I could," Chase recalled. "I worked hard, and the rest of the team had my back, and we did what we could for the rest of the season."
 
While Chase has had a plethora of athletic role models, there is a member of his family who he can credit as an example of selflessness. She didn't play in the NFL, and she's never played in a college football game.
 
"My mom's more of a team player than I am, and she doesn't even play sports," noted Chase. "She'll put anything down at the drop of a dime to help out anyone. I've always appreciated my mom in that sense. My mom is huge for me."
 
As Chase's playing career nears the end of the fourth quarter, his sights have shifted from being on the field, to taking up residence on the sideline.
 
"I want to go in the same direction my father went. Obviously I'm not playing in the NFL next year, and I'm not declaring for the draft," joked Chase. "But football has always been a huge part of my life. I've spent my life getting ready for the next stage, and I don't want to completely give up football. I think I understand football tremendously and I'd like to keep football close to me."
 
That next stage will look like coaching in some capacity for Chase. The Venuto's are no stranger to the sidelines as well. Chase's grandfather coached at Salem High School for 35 years, his uncle is in his 21st year at Villanova as the offensive coordinator, and his father had coaching stints at Wake Forrest, Pittsburg and Cornell University.
 
And if coaching isn't the right fit?
 
"If football's not it?" Chase questioned. "The competitive part of me wants to say that it will be. Coaching football is what I will be good at."
 
If family history is any implication, Chase has a pretty good shot at coaching. And he has the genetics to prove it.
 
Chase and the rest of the Brockport football team will be back in action this Saturday, Oct. 3 in the Homecoming contest against Alfred State College at 4 p.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.