Yesterday's entry in our countdown to kickoff highlighted wide receiver Jalen Moss, whose debut season in Tempe is highly anticipated by the Sun Devil faithful. With 17 days until kickoff, we turn back to the late-2000's to honor the only 4,000 yard passer in Arizona State history, Brock Osweiler.
Born in Coeur d'Alene ID and raised in Montana, Brock was a two sport athlete in his high school years, excelling in both football and basketball. Football was not always Brock's collegiate focus, as he committed to Gonzaga to play basketball after his freshman season in 2006, later rescinding that commitment to dedicate himself to football.
Brock committed to Arizona State for football over offers from Washington State and Stanford, arriving in Tempe in the Fall of 2009 and forming a QB room with senior Danny Sullivan and sophomore Samson Szakacsy.
After appearing in a limited role in four of the first eight games of the season for the Devils, Brock finally got the first start of his career on November 7th against USC, becoming the first true freshman to start for the Sun Devils since Jake Plummer in 1993. He threw for 153 yards and one touchdown in the 14-9 loss to the Trojans, and finished the 2009 season with 249 passing yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions.
Incoming transfer Steven Threet disrupted Brock's hopes of being named the starter, limiting him to 13 completions on 24 attempts for 150 passing yards in parts of three games. Little did we know that his coming out party would come late in the season.
Brock Osweiler into the game at QB for ASU. Unconfirmed reports of Threet being looked at on sidelines after last sack
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) November 26, 2010
After just three pass attempts, Threet went down with an injury, allowing Brock to take the stage at Sun Devil Stadium on Senior Night. To say that he shined would be an understatement, as all he managed to do was have the best passing game at home since 2007. 380 passing yards and 5 total touchdowns later, the Devils claimed the 55-34 win over UCLA, earning Brock Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week honors and giving him his best look yet at winning the starting job.
Arizona St quarterback Brock Osweiler and kick returner Jamal Miles have been named Pacific-10 Conference Players of the Week
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 29, 2010
Brock would ultimately start the regular season finale in Tucson the following week, overcoming a slow start and finishing with 267 yards and one touchdown in the 30-29 2OT win that is best remembered as the James Brooks Block Party.
ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler has decided against joining Herb Sendek's basketball team. He will concentrate on football. #Pac10.
— Doug Haller (@DougHaller) December 7, 2010
After announcing late in the 2010 season that he planned to join the Sun Devil basketball team under Herb Sendek at the conclusion of the football season, Brock had a change of heart and reaffirmed his commitment to football, being named one of the team captains and earning himself the undisputed starting job in the Fall of 2011. While the Devils faltered to a 6-7 season after racing out to a 6-2 start, Brock's re-writing of the program's record books was the story of the season.
Brock Osweiler just broke the #ArizonaState school-record for passing yards in a season. Andrew Walter (3,877 yds) previously held record.
— Jay Tust (@Jay_Tust) December 23, 2011
He shattered the record for completions with 326 (previously held by Andrew Walter with 274 in 2002) on a since-broken record 516 pass attempts, became the first (and to date only) Sun Devil quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards (finished with 4,036), adding 26 passing touchdowns along the way. He showed some scrambling ability as well, rushing for 90 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
His 6 games of 300 or more passing yards set another program record (later broken by Taylor Kelly's 9 games in 2013), highlighted by a 487 yard performance at home against Arizona in a 31-27 loss.
Sources have confirmed that Brock Osweiler will hold a press conference Friday to announce that he is declaring for the NFL draft
— DevilsDigest.com (@DevilsDigest) January 6, 2012
While Brock initially committed to return for his senior season, he declared for the 2012 NFL Draft three weeks in to the Todd Graham era. The Denver Broncos made him their second selection of the 2nd round (57th overall), playing the first four seasons of his career in the Mile High City and starting the final 7 games of the regular season in place of an injured Peyton Manning in 2015, earning a ring in the Broncos' 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Brock Osweiler is signing with the Houston Texans, as @Rand_Getlin reported.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2016
He would move on to the Houston Texans in 2016 after signing a four-year, $72 million contract, setting career highs with 2,957 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. He would finish his career returning to Denver in 2017 and later moving on to Miami in 2018, amassing 7,418 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns and 31 interceptions in 49 games (30 starts).
Brock retired from the NFL in 2019 and settled in Scottsdale with his family, but couldn't stay away from football long, joining ESPN in 2022 as a booth analyst. Brock was inducted into the Montana Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024, and has remained connected to his alma mater by donating to the football program in 2023.
He has yet to get the call to the Sun Devil Hall of Fame, but his outstanding junior season leaves him more than deserving of recognition as we count down the days to kickoff.