Haruki Rocky Seto, often referred to as Rocky Seto, (born March 12, 1976) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

; he last served as the Assistant Head Coach for the NFL's

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. In 2017, Seto announced that he was leaving the coaching industry to become a full-time pastor. He is currently serving as the Senior Pastor for Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley.

Early years

Seto was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

; he is

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asia ...

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

, son of

Issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...

parents. His father runs a gardening business and grew up going to USC football games; both father and son were fans of the Trojans. Seto attended Arcadia High School, where he played numerous positions; he described himself as an "average player".Bruce Feldman
Seto settling in at USC
ESPN.com, May 21, 2007, Accessed February 10, 2009.

College career

Seto began his college playing career at

Mount San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 stud ...

, a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

area. He chose the college so he could play for head coach Bill Fisk, who was an All-American at USC. Seto was a fullback and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

during the 1995 and 1996 seasons, but mostly played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In 1997, he transferred to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, hoping to walk-on to the football team. Although he was initially told he would be able to walk-on, he stopped getting mail from the program. Concerned, Seto staged an "accidental" meeting with head coach John Robinson who sorted out his situation, allowing him to walk-on. Seto was a reserve linebacker for the Trojans in 1997, seeing action on the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

. In 1998, new head coach Paul Hackett awarded him an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

, and he was later awarded USC's Black Shirt (scout team) Defensive Player of the Year Award for that season.Clay DeLeon
Coaches Corner: Coach Rocky Seto
SCPlaybook.com (Scout.com), April 10, 2008, Accessed December 16, 2008. Seto received an

Associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

in general studies from Mt. San Antonio Junior College in 1997, a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in exercise science from USC in 1999, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in public administration from USC in 2001. Once he had gained his bachelor's degree, Seto initially planned to attend graduate school at USC to become a

physical therapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

. Although he had already placed his deposit, he found out about the possibility of a volunteer assistant position with the football program and opted to enter coaching.

Coaching career

After playing for the Trojans, Seto joined the coaching staff in 1999 as a volunteer assistant under then-

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Paul Hackett, working with the defense and special teams. In 2000, he served as an administrative graduate assistant, and with the arrival of head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

in 2001, he became a graduate assistant involved in the defense, working with the general defense in 2001 and safeties in 2002. In 2003, he became a full coach, in charge of safeties, and from 2004 to 2005 he coached linebackers. From 2006 to 2010, he coached the USC secondary. In 2008, former college teammate

Kris Richard Kris Richard (born October 28, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach f ...

joined the staff as a graduate assistant. In 2006, Seto turned down a job to coach the secondary of the NFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. When USC

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

Steve Sarkisian Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB GENEALOGY – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". – FUN FACT, Sarkisian’s father is actually Texas Tech Head Coach, Joey McGuire. ''Dallas Mo ...

departed to take the head coaching position at

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in late 2008, he offered Seto the position of

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

. He opted to stay at USC and continue coaching the secondary, along with a raise and the additional title of assistant head coach for defense.Gary Klein
Rocky Seto will stay at USC
''Los Angeles Times'', December 16, 2008, Accessed December 16, 2008. On January 7, 2009, Carroll promoted Seto to USC Defensive Coordinator.Gary Klein
Pete Carroll promotes Rocky Seto to defensive coordinator
''Los Angeles Times'', January 8, 2009, Accessed January 8, 2009. Seto was not retained when Lane Kiffin became the head coach at USC. He was replaced by Kiffin's father, Monte. In 2010, Seto joined Pete Carroll's coaching staff for the NFL's

. In 2015, the Seahawks announced that Seto has been promoted to assistant head coach/defense. In January 2017, Seto announced that he is leaving his position with the Seahawks to join the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

ministry. He now serves as a pastor in

La Puente, California La Puente (Spanish for "The Bridge") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. History The original inhabitants of the ...

Personal life

Seto is named after boxer

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

, his brothers are named after

Sonny Jurgensen Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted int ...

and

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

. His nickname is "Rock".Mike Sager
Big Balls Pete Carroll
''Esquire'', September 11, 2009, Accessed September 22, 2009. Seto married Sharla (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Chiang), who played soccer for USC and was on the Women of Troy's 1998 Pac-10 championship squad; she was originally from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. They have two daughters (Kaylani & Mia) and two sons (Troy & Timothy). Seto is a devout Christian and considers his church community an important aspect of his life. He was featured in an episode of

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...

's "More Than Conquerors" magazine show, which profiles Christian sports figures and shares their

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

. Seto has participated in an exchange program with

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

to help teach American football coaching and playing strategy. Seto currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley.

References

External links

*Official Rocky Seto websites
shouldertackling.com
an
thegreatesttreasure.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seto, Rocky 1976 births Living people Mt. SAC Mounties football players Seattle Seahawks coaches USC Trojans football players USC Trojans football coaches American sportspeople of Japanese descent USC Sol Price School of Public Policy alumni