GU recruit jumps through hoops into football

Brock Osweiler has changed his mind and his sport of choice. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound product of Flathead High in Kalispell, Mont., who committed to Gonzaga’s basketball program nearly two years ago, has decided to play football at Arizona State University.

Osweiler said he wrestled with the decision for months, but it came into focus Wednesday during a multimedia class. He was on the Internet checking out football recruits of ASU and Florida State when “something just clicked.

“It happened in an instant and I got a great feeling in my stomach,” Osweiler said. “I said, ‘I have to go talk to my football coach (Russell McCarvel) and tell him about it.’ He said I was making this decision for all the right reasons. I called my parents and they said the same thing.

“It’s been football or Gonzaga basketball every day for three, four months and it’s been so hard. In the end, I went with what my heart told me to do, and that was to play football.”

Osweiler gave Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson a commitment by phone Wednesday.

Osweiler, who was to be part of Gonzaga’s 2009 class, has been Flathead’s starting quarterback for three years. He threw for 2,454 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore and 2,935 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior.

Osweiler informed Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice of his change of heart.

“It was super hard for me. In fact, it was just as hard as the conversation a couple months ago when I told them about the thought of me playing football,” Osweiler said

Osweiler’s decision isn’t a major surprise. According to Scout.com, Osweiler was being recruited by Florida State, Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA and Washington State to play football.