KALISPELL — Brock Osweiler folded his 6-foot-8 frame and tilted his head toward the sky, mouth agape, underneath an orange Gatorade bucket filled with cool water, a long draw quenching the Super Bowl champion’s thirst on a sweltering day at Legends Stadium.
A quick glance at this scene might’ve initially revealed a 17-year-old improvising due to a lack of cups, but extended observation told a different tale, one of excitement to be home, the feeling of being a high-schooler again, and a passion for football from someone who experienced it at its highest level.
For the second consecutive summer, Osweiler, a Kalispell Flathead legend, returned to the site of many victorious Friday nights to host an early-morning quarterback throwing session and two-hour kids camp.
Just driving the route Saturday morning that Osweiler and his teammates walked pregame some 16 years ago evoked strong emotion from the 2008-09 Montana Football Gatorade Player of the Year and seven-year NFL veteran.
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“There was like a new sense of energy in my soul,” Osweiler told 406 MT Sports. “To drive up 3rd Avenue West, get to the stadium, see the stadium – a lot of great memories…
“Some of my best memories came from playing high school football.”
Saturday was all about teaching and motivating.
Osweiler told both groups of up-and-coming players they needed to take what they wanted from football, a concept that “clicked” in Denver after conversations with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
“I always had in the back of my head, ‘be the hardest worker possible,’” Osweiler said.