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Growing up the son of legendary Skyline coach Roger DuPaix, Joe DuPaix has always had high school football in his blood. And after spending more than a decade coaching in the college ranks, he will be back under the Friday night lights this fall.

DuPaix, who most recently served as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for BYU, has been hired as the head football coach at Timpanogos, he confirmed Monday.

"I jumped at it," said DuPaix, who coached at Navy and Cal Poly before BYU. "When you're passionate about something, and you want to be on the field coaching ball, you want to be on the field coaching ball."

Being passionate about coaching football is a trait that runs through DuPaix's family. His father, Roger, won 301 games and eight state championships at Skyline before retiring. And his brother, Danny, is the head coach at West Jordan. That a third member of the family will now have the reigns to his own program should come as little surprise, DuPaix said.

"I grew up as a 2- or 3-year-old watching my dad coach football," he said. "You grow up in it and it becomes a part of who you are. It's something that we love to do and my dad had great success. And we've seen great success in changing people's lives. And you win some football games along way."

DuPaix said he knew a decent amount about the Timpanogos program before taking the job, through his position as BYU's recruiting coordinator. But he already has begun familiarizing himself with the Timpanogos community and history.

And as far as getting the Timberwolves, who finished 6-5 last season, ready to take the field this fall, DuPaix knows it's going to be a challenge — but one he feels prepared for.

"It's going to be a quick learning curve in some aspects," he said.

Despite the challenges of running his own program, one thing DuPaix is most looking forward to is coaching high school players, many of whom have different motivations than their collegiate counterparts.

"Kids are playing football purely for the passion and the love of the game," DuPaix said. "I also think you have a much greater opportunity to have an impact and influence the lives of young men. Those two things are really big."