TERRY COLUMN: Brock in small group

Preparing for his second Super Bowl, Brock Osweiler is in rare company.

A day after we celebrate the best prep football players signing to continue playing at the next level, it’s easy to lose track of just how few have made it as far as the former Flathead standout.

Leaving Kalispell, Osweiler was one of dozens of Montana players to take on the challenge of college football. The last super recruit from Northwest Montana, he was ranked as a three-star recruit and among the top 50 quarterbacks in his class according to national recruiting website Scout.com.

Of that list, he was the first to get drafted and one of only 10 to join an NFL roster after college. Only five other quarterbacks have earned playing time from that list and just four others have started a game. (Geno Smith of the N.Y. Jets, Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders, Zach Mettenberger of the Tennessee Titans and AJ McCarron of the Cincinnati Bengals)

That is to say, Brock has made his long shot count.

He is one of very few players, at any position, to ever get the chance to play in the NFL from Montana.

As the newest batch of recruits join the college ranks, after the smiling photos and donning school ball caps, most will struggle to just make their college team.

In the history of professional football, just 68 players have come from Montana. Of those, only 47 played in the Super Bowl era, which began in the 1966-67 season.

Expanded to players who played their college football in the state of Montana, 36 more make the list.

The list narrows when you look for homegrown talent to spend long stretches in the NFL.

Heading into his second contract, likely to be a lucrative one, Brock has spent four years in the league, already longer than all but a handful of others.

Aside from his longevity, it’s even rarer for someone to see as much success as he has in his young career.

Even as he’s started just seven games, he is one of just two quarterbacks from the Treasure State to start a game, the other the much more infamous Ryan Leaf, a graduate of C.M. Russell High and a contemporary of Osweiler’s mentor, Peyton Manning. In one season of regular playing time, Osweiler is already nearing many of the marks set by the volatile Washington State grad and former No. 2 overall pick.

Just as rare as that success is what is the fortune he has found along the way. This will be Osweiler’s fourth trip to the playoffs, a level that many of the state’s best have never reached.

Only 20 players from the state have made the NFL playoffs. Including players that have played for state colleges, just 30 have made the postseason. Only nine players have made the Super Bowl from Montana high schools or colleges.

Flathead, fittingly, joins Bozeman as the only state school to send two players to the Super Bowl. Braves great Sam McCullum was a kick returner during his rookie season for the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX. Bozeman’s Dane Fletcher made Super Bowl XLVI with the New England Patriots in 2012 and Brock Coyle was a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX last season.

Now, as he prepares for his second Super Bowl, he joins a list of just three. Helena’s Pat Donovan is the only other Montana prep player to have been on team that made more than one Super Bowl, starting at right tackle for the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls X, XII and XIII. Doug Betters, a Whitefish resident and Nebraska native who started his college career at Montana before moving on to Nevada-Reno, played in Super Bowls XVII and XIX for the Miami Dolphins.

Should he be lucky this weekend, Osweiler (or Columbus grad and Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Dwan Edwards) will join the list of the state’s Super Bowl winners, which includes Donovan (Super Bowl XII) and Butte’s Pat Ogrin (Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XVII). Only one other athlete to play in the state won a title. Montana State standout and Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Jan Stenerud won Super Bowl IV with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Even as he plays with some of the best in the world, Brock Osweiler is keeping a small group these days. As his career continues, it may only get smaller.