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Fans quickly fall in love with a quarterback who has a cannon for an arm, can thread the ball into a tight window and can make plays with his feet. Those players are able to drop jaws and put together SportsCenter-ready highlights. But without great leadership ability, they will never be able to become truly great quarterbacks.
Thankfully, Brock Osweiler has all of the above.
Osweiler's physical gifts were apparent from the moment he stepped foot on Arizona State's campus. However, he had to wait nearly two season for his chance. After Steven Threet suffered a career-ending concussion early against UCLA late in the 2010 season, Osweiler had his chance to shine, and shine he did. Osweiler threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns, and added a rushing score in ASU's thrilling 55-34 win.
One week later, Osweiler got the start in the Territorial Cup game against the hated Wildcats. In the exceedingly hostile environment of Tucson, Osweiler and the Sun Devils struggled early but remained close and managed to grab a 17-14 lead late in the fourth quarter.
This was it. This was what every Sun Devil dreams of: crunch time against UofA. Despite this being just his second career start, Osweiler showed off his maturity and leadership qualities that were developed well beyond his years. During a stoppage in play, he gathered the entire squad--not just the offense, but everyone--around and rallied the team in what has gone down into Sun Devil lore as "The Jump Huddle".
We'll let the video take it from here:
What happened during the rest of that game is obviously the stuff of legend, and was the launching pad for Osweiler to eventually become the Denver Broncos' second round pick this past April.
See all the previous entries on House of Sparky's 100 day football countdown here.
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