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* ParentalSubstitute: Sadly, due to his grandmother's dementia and his father's absence, Matt is Grandma Saracen's primary caregiver, which is a lot for a teenager to handle. Nevertheless, Matt clearly loves her and would do anything for her, and despite his difficulties dealing with this role he manages to ensure that she's well cared for throughout the series.
** Coach Taylor becomes this for Matt himself. Given Matt's father's years of absence and emotional detachment, it's desperately needed.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Landry
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Coach--along with his wife Tami--probably the nicest person on the show and serves as the town's moral touchstone on many occasions. That being said, if you EVER hurt his wife, his daughters OR his players, Coach ''will'' make you sincerely sorry, and even the toughest man will find himself apologizing profusely by the time he's done talking to him. The best part? When he's angry, he manages to be terrifiyingly intimidating ''without'' crossing any moral lines. (Again, he ''is'' the show's moral center)

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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Coach--along with his wife Tami--probably Tami--is probably the nicest person on the show and serves as the town's moral touchstone on many occasions. That being said, if you EVER hurt his wife, his daughters OR his players, Coach ''will'' make you sincerely sorry, and even the toughest man will find himself apologizing profusely by the time he's done talking to him. The best part? When he's angry, he manages to be terrifiyingly intimidating ''without'' crossing any moral lines. (Again, he ''is'' the show's moral center)

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* BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother, who is a full-fledged, pill-popping Broken Bird in a string of abusive relationships who doesn't want her daughter to go to college. [[Spoiler: Ultimately averts it; gets out of Dillon and goes to UT.]]

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* BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother, who is a full-fledged, pill-popping Broken Bird in a string of abusive relationships who doesn't want her daughter to go to college. [[Spoiler: [[spoiler: Ultimately averts it; gets out of Dillon and goes to UT.]]



* DisappearedDad: His dad joined the Army and Matt believes he was a much better soldier than he was a parent.

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* DisappearedDad: His dad joined the Army and Matt believes he was a much better soldier than he was a parent. He even goes so far as to encourage his dad to go back to Iraq after he suggests his grandmother go to a nursing home.



* PlatonicLifePartners: With Tyra after Their break up. He also has this with Devin and Jess.

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* PlatonicLifePartners: With Tyra after Their break up. their split; though they're not dating, he [[spoiler:does everything he can to make sure Tyra gets into college.]] He also has this with Devin and Jess.Jess.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: He was supposed to start playing football in season 2, but after Jesse Plemons injured himself during...guess what...a football game, the plot couldn't start till Season 3.



* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Matt are not shy about exchanging snarky comments but They really do care about each other.

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* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Matt are not shy about exchanging snarky comments but They comments, though they really do care about each other.



* BrokenAce: He's an excellent football player but has a very messed up life and mother addicted to Heroin.

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* BrokenAce: He's an excellent football player player, but has a very messed up life his father walked out and his mother is depressed and addicted to Heroin.heroin.



* {{Adorkable}}: At first

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* {{Adorkable}}: At firstfirst.




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!!Grandma Lorraine Saracen (Louanne Stephens)
*ActorSharedBackground: Louanne Stephens has experience volunteering with dementia patients in nursing homes, and drew on that for her portrayal.
*CoolOldLady: Can drink with the best of them.
*ScrewPolitenessImASenior: "Matthew, you need to get a new friend."

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* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She suddenly becomes this at the beginning of Season 2, though later episodes mitigate this.

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* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She suddenly becomes this at the beginning of Season 2, though later episodes mitigate this. Otherwise she is often mature, level-headed and kind.
* HairOfGold
* OddFriendship: With Tyra at first.



* HeroicSacrifice: Went to jail to protect his brother who had just become a father.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Jason.



* VitriolicBestBuds: With Jason and his brother Billy.

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* SympathethicCriminal: When running the chop shop with his brother.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Jason and his brother Billy.
Billy. Most of his friendships qualify due to his sarcastic nature.



* PlatonicLifePartners: With Landry after Their breakup.



* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: J.D. [=McCoy=]. Though Matt is later called upon to fix J.D.'s mistakes.

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* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: J.D. [=McCoy=]. Though Matt is later called upon to fix J.D.'s mistakes.mistakes, implying that Matt really was the better player all along.



* DisappearedDad

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* DisappearedDadDisappearedDad: His dad joined the Army and Matt believes he was a much better soldier than he was a parent.



* HonorBeforeReason



* MissingMom

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* MissingMomMissingMom: She comes back in season three and tries to make amends.



* WhenHeSmiles: He has a pretty sweet nerdy grin that comes out on the few occasions he's happy. Its always nice to see.



* Adorkable



* ButtMonkey: In Season one. After that, it mostly wears off.

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* ButtMonkey: In Season one. After that, it mostly wears off. By season four, he is possibly the most compotent character on the team.



* TheHeart: Of the Panthers and later the Lions.



* NiceGuy

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* NiceGuyMyNameIsNotDurwood: Coach Taylor never seemed to stop addressing him as "Lance".
* NiceGuy: Definitely one of the nicest in the series.
* OnlySaneMan


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* TookALevelInBadass:


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* BrokenAce: He's an excellent football player but has a very messed up life and mother addicted to Heroin.
* DisppearedDad: His father is nowhere to be seen and is not mentioned.
* SympatheticCriminal: He only became a criminal because he grew up in such a rough neighborhood and never knew another way of life.


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* BrokenBird
* DisappearedDad
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Subverted. After getting pregnant, she gets an abortion and is treated sympathetically by the show for doing so.
* StepfordSmiler: Her optimistic attitude hides the broken fragile young girl beneath it.
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* AmazinglyEmbarassingParent

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* AmazinglyEmbarassingParentAmazinglyEmbarassingParent: Her adulterous father who seems to care more about football than his own kids definitely qualifies.
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* AmazinglyEmbarassingParent
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* CatchPhrase: "Hi, honey!"

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* ReasonableAuthorityFigure



* BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother. [[Spoiler: Ultimately averts it.]]

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* BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother. mother, who is a full-fledged, pill-popping Broken Bird in a string of abusive relationships who doesn't want her daughter to go to college. [[Spoiler: Ultimately averts it.it; gets out of Dillon and goes to UT.]]


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* EverybodyRemembersTheStripper: Older sister Mindy works as one.
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* PapaWolf: To his daughters and his team. Do NOT screw his daughter and then come to his house to apologize. He will chase you out of his garage with part of his toddler's tricycle substituting for a baseball bat.

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* PapaWolf: To his daughters and his team. Do NOT screw his daughter and then come to his house to apologize. He will chase you out of his garage with part of his toddler's tricycle substituting for a baseball bat.
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* BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother. [[Ultimately averts it.]]
* CoolBigSis: Plays this trope to Julie in Season 1.
* DisappearedDad
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl
* ShesGotLegs: And everyone knows, including Tami, who takes advantage of Tyra's height to boost up the floundering girls volleyball team.

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* BrokenBird: *BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother. [[Ultimately [[Spoiler: Ultimately averts it.]]
* CoolBigSis: *CoolBigSis: Plays this trope to Julie in Season 1.
* DisappearedDad
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl
* ShesGotLegs:
*DisappearedDad
*HardDrinkingPartyGirl
*ShesGotLegs:
And everyone knows, including Tami, who takes advantage of Tyra's height to boost up the floundering girls volleyball team.

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*BrokenBird: Seems well on her way to becoming this when we first meet her, even more so after we meet her mother. [[Ultimately averts it.]]
*CoolBigSis: Plays this trope to Julie in Season 1.
*DisappearedDad
*HardDrinkingPartyGirl
*ShesGotLegs: And everyone knows, including Tami, who takes advantage of Tyra's height to boost up the floundering girls volleyball team.
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* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: In Season 3.

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* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: In Season 3.2.
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* Jerkass / TookALevelInJerkass: In Season four.

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* Jerkass {{Jerkass}} / TookALevelInJerkass: In Season four.
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* Badasslonghair

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* BadasslonghairBadassLongHair



* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: J.D. McCoy. Though Matt is later called upon to fix J.D.'s mistakes.

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* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: J.D. McCoy.[=McCoy=]. Though Matt is later called upon to fix J.D.'s mistakes.



* SmallNameBigEgo/InsufferableGenius: Had his moments but Coach Taylor was always quick to bring him back down to earth.

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* SmallNameBigEgo/InsufferableGenius: SmallNameBigEgo / InsufferableGenius: Had his moments but Coach Taylor was always quick to bring him back down to earth.



!!J.D. McCoy (Jeremy Sumpter)

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!!J.D. McCoy [=McCoy=] (Jeremy Sumpter)



* Jerkass/TookALevelInJerkass: In Season four.

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* Jerkass/TookALevelInJerkass: Jerkass / TookALevelInJerkass: In Season four.
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* Adorkable

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* Adorkable{{Adorkable}}



* Adorkable

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* Adorkable{{Adorkable}}



* Adorkable: At first

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* Adorkable: {{Adorkable}}: At first

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* ClosetGeek



* ClosetGeek

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* StepfordSmiler
* YourCheatingHeart



* BrilliantButLazy: He's an excellent player and a pretty good student but has very little ability to apply himself to anything.

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* BrilliantButLazy: He's an excellent player and a pretty good student but has very little ability to apply himself to anything. He ends up [[spoiler: quitting college after getting halfway through the first period of his first class]]


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* ClosetGeek
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* {{Joisey}}: Moves there when he becomes a sports agent (his job is in the BigApplesauce though)>

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* {{Joisey}}: Moves there when he becomes a sports agent (his job is in the BigApplesauce though)>though).
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* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried: Finally finds happiness and settles down during his final arc)
* Jerkass: After his accident, although difficult to blame him, especially in light of Tim and Lyla's betrayal (though they eventually resume their friendships).
* Joisey: Moves there when he becomes a sports agent (his job is in the BigApplesauce though)>

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* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried: Finally finds happiness and settles down during his final arc)
arc)]]
* Jerkass: {{Jerkass}}: After his accident, although difficult to blame him, especially in light of Tim and Lyla's betrayal (though they eventually resume their friendships).
* Joisey: {{Joisey}}: Moves there when he becomes a sports agent (his job is in the BigApplesauce though)>

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* Adorkable
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She suddenly becomes this at the beginning of Season 2, though later episodes mitigate this.
* SnarkKnight



* BrokenAce

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* ** BrokenAce



* Jerkass: After his accident though its difficult to blame him.

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* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried: Finally finds happiness and settles down during his final arc)
* Jerkass: After his accident though its accident, although difficult to blame him.him, especially in light of Tim and Lyla's betrayal (though they eventually resume their friendships).
* Joisey: Moves there when he becomes a sports agent (his job is in the BigApplesauce though)>


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* PutOnABus
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* NiceGuy: There's a ''reason'' everyone in town wants him to be their confidant.
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Coach--along with his wife Tami--probably the nicest person on the show and serves as the town's moral touchstone on many occasions. That being said, if you EVER hurt his wife, his daughters OR his players, Coach ''will'' make you apologize profusely by the time he's done talking to you. The best part? When he's angry, he manages to be terrifiyingly intimidating ''without'' crossing any moral lines. (Again, he ''is'' the show's moral center)

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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Coach--along with his wife Tami--probably the nicest person on the show and serves as the town's moral touchstone on many occasions. That being said, if you EVER hurt his wife, his daughters OR his players, Coach ''will'' make you apologize sincerely sorry, and even the toughest man will find himself apologizing profusely by the time he's done talking to you.him. The best part? When he's angry, he manages to be terrifiyingly intimidating ''without'' crossing any moral lines. (Again, he ''is'' the show's moral center)
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Coach--along with his wife Tami--probably the nicest person on the show and serves as the town's moral touchstone on many occasions. That being said, if you EVER hurt his wife, his daughters OR his players, Coach ''will'' make you apologize profusely by the time he's done talking to you. The best part? When he's angry, he manages to be terrifiyingly intimidating ''without'' crossing any moral lines. (Again, he ''is'' the show's moral center)


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** Even more terrifying, when Julie comes home from college and confesses to [[spoiler: having an affair with her married TA, and said TA shows up at the Taylors' house, Coach silently strides out and physically chases him back into his car and actually smashes the taillight as the car pulls away.]] Doubles as a HUGE instance of BewareTheNiceOnes.
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* PapaWolf: To his daughters and his team.

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* PapaWolf: To his daughters and his team. Do NOT screw his daughter and then come to his house to apologize. He will chase you out of his garage with part of his toddler's tricycle substituting for a baseball bat.

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* NiceHat
* PapaWolf: To his daughters and his team.
* ParentalSubstitute: Most notably to Matt.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure


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* AlliterativeName


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* HonorBeforeReason


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* TheAce
* BrokenAce
* TheDeterminator
* Jerkass: After his accident though its difficult to blame him.
* OutOfFocus: He was initially a main character but left towards the end of season three to work in New York.
* PapaWolf: There really isn't anything he won't do for his son.
* VitriolicBestBuds: He can a real jerk to Tim (Not without cause) but They do really care about each other.


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* Badasslonghair
* BottleFairy: You could probably take a shot everytime Tim isn't in the middle of drinking a beer and finish the series without even feeling tipsy.
* BrilliantButLazy: He's an excellent player and a pretty good student but has very little ability to apply himself to anything.
* DeadpanSnarker: Probably the most sarcastic character in the series.
* DisappearedDad
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He can be be a real jerk at times but has a very sweet and warm exterior underneath. Most notably when he starts acting as a mentor to younger players like J.D. or consoles his friends like Matt or Becky.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Jason and his brother Billy.


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* Adorkable
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: J.D. McCoy. Though Matt is later called upon to fix J.D.'s mistakes.
* ButtMonkey: If something terrible is going to happen, there's a good chance it will be to Matt.
* TheDeterminator
* DisappearedDad
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Landry
* IronWoobie
* MissingMom
* NiceGuy
* VitriolicBestBuds: He's never been shy about making fun of Landry though he obviously cares about him a lot.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: It mostly comes from being forced to look after his ill grandmother at only sixteen.


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* ActorSharedBackground: Jesse Plemons is one of the few cast members who is also from Texas and who did play high school football.
* AscendedExtra
* ButtMonkey: In Season one. After that, it mostly wears off.
* DeadpanSnarker: He's not shy about pointing about other people's stupidity.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Matt.
* NiceGuy
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Tyra after Their break up. He also has this with Devin and Jess.
* TheSmartGuy
* VitriolicBestBuds: He and Matt are not shy about exchanging snarky comments but They really do care about each other.


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* DisappearedDad
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: When someone calls him "Brian", its a sign of something important.
* SmallNameBigEgo/InsufferableGenius: Had his moments but Coach Taylor was always quick to bring him back down to earth.
* SympatheticCriminal: When he starts taking steroids in season one, he is trying to improve his chances of going to college and getting his family out of poverty.


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* AbusiveParents: His dad to the point that he beat him for being justifiably angry at him and tried to ruin his relationship with a girl.
* TheAce: In Season three
* Adorkable: At first
* ButtMonkey
* Jerkass/TookALevelInJerkass: In Season four.
* StageMom: His dad nearly drives him insane with his meddling.
* WellDoneSonGuy: His dad keeps him searching for approval.

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The head coach of the Dillon Panthers in seasons 1-3, and the East Dillon Lions in 4-5. [[HappilyMarried]] to Tami Taylor, and father to Julie and Gracie Belle.

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The head coach of the Dillon Panthers in seasons 1-3, and the East Dillon Lions in 4-5. [[HappilyMarried]] HappilyMarried to Tami Taylor, and father to Julie and Gracie Belle.
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*CareerVersusMan: Subverted. Eric and Tami may quarrel a bit sometimes over school-related things, but it never affects their family to the point of breaking.
*TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: In Season 3.
*HotMom
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*BrainyBrunette: She's smart enough to get into Vanderbilt; however, she first says she's going to follow Jason to Notre Dame in Season 1 and then, after Jason follow Tim to San Antonio State at the end of 3. [[spoiler:She doesn't do either.]]
*TheCheerleader: Natch. Then she throws her uniform in the garbage.
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!!J.D. McCoy (Jeremy Sumpter)
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!!Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler)

The head coach of the Dillon Panthers in seasons 1-3, and the East Dillon Lions in 4-5. [[HappilyMarried]] to Tami Taylor, and father to Julie and Gracie Belle.

*AFatherToHisMen: Especially Matt and Vince.

!!Tami Taylor (Connie Britton)

The coach's wife who is not content to be just the coach's wife in a town crazy about football. Guidance counselor and then principal at West Dillon High, and mother of Julie and Gracie Belle. Eminently quotable.

!!Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden)

The teenage daughter of the Taylors. Starts out as a freshman in high school; is through her freshman year of college when the series ends.

!!Jason Street (Scott Porter)

Former star quarterback of the Dillon Panthers. Suffers a severe spinal injury in the pilot episode that leaves him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

!!Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly)

Cheerleader and girlfriend of Jason Street when the series starts. Comes from a McMansion family barely holding together at the seams.

!!Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch)

!!Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki)

!!Matt Saracen (Zack Gilford)

!!Landry Clarke (Jesse Plemons)

!!Brian "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles)

!!Luke Cafferty (Matt Lauria)

!!Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan)

!!Jess Merriweather (Jurmee Smollett)

!!Becky Sproles (Madison Burgess)

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