A.J. Gray and twins Lance and Lawrence Austin know better. Long before they lined

	Jr. DB Lance Austin

up in the Yellow Jackets' secondary, the trio served as water boys for the Washington County High School football team in Sandersville, Ga. Their dads, Dr. Allen Gray and Derick Austin, were coaches on the Washington County staff.
  "We started in, like, elementary school. Before every Friday night, we used to always get our own games going before the game and play tackle football," A.J. Gray recalled.
  Come game time, they handled their responsibilities well.
  "They did a good job," said Dr. Gray. "Because if they didn't, we would have run them out of there."
  That bond has since reformed on The Flats, where all three figure to have prominent roles this season. Gray and Lance Austin made their first career starts against

	Jr. DB Lawrence Austin

Boston College; Lawrence, older than Lance by a minute, should see plenty of reps as the Jackets' nickel back.
   Heading into the Jackets' game against Vanderbilt (12 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network), the secondary has already identified one area where it wants to improve.
  "Turnovers," said Lance Austin. "It's always good to get turnovers at Bobby Dodd."
  If excelling in the secondary takes discipline, then Lance, Lawrence and A.J. had plenty of that growing up, too; their fathers were also their high school principals. Dr. Allen Gray rose from PE teacher to principal at Washington County, where A.J. earned Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year honors. Derick, a former cornerback at Georgia Southern, moved his family

	So. DB A.J. Gray

to Barnesville, Ga., where he had taken the principal's job at Lamar County, before his sons' seventh-grade year.
Not surprisingly, their sons didn't have your typical high school experience. "I'm going to tell your Dad," was a crack they heard often.
   "All I'm going to say is you walk on a thinnnn line," laughed A.J., who added that it was easy for him and his older sister, Allisha, to stay out of trouble -- after all, their Dad was their ride home.
  Lance Austin said the only time he ever "visited the principal's office" at Lamar County was to grab a snack from his Dad.
  "I didn't get into much trouble," he said.
  Much?
  "Let me correct that. I didn't get into any trouble."

  Derick confirms.
  "I didn't have a problem with having to balance being the father and the principal," he said. "Both their mom and I had high standards for then. They liked to try to conform and produce to what their expectations were."

  Gray and the Austins both said their fathers were more low-key principals than rigid, fear-mongering taskmasters. And being a principal's son wasn't all that awkward. In fact, they cherished it.
  "Staying on top of you, making sure you're doing what you're supposed to do - I had great parents growing up. So did A.J. They made sure they stayed on top of us," said Lance.