Trevor Siemian

Trevor Siemian's high school coach had to beg him to play football

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:23 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

Trevor Siemian defied all odds this offseason and beat out a veteran in Mark Sanchez and a first-round pick in Paxton Lynch to win the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback job. He was merely an afterthought after being a third-string seventh-round pick last season, but it seems as though sitting behind Peyton Manning paid dividends.

Siemian has flown under the radar for just about his entire career. He wasn’t highly recruited out of high school, he fell to the seventh round in 2015, and he was given little chance to beat out Sanchez and Lynch this season.

His climb up the ranks began in high school in Orlando, though. It was then that he picked up football thanks to his coach. In fact, he had to be begged to play the sport after focusing mostly on baseball.

Siemian is obviously a terrific athlete and probably could have gone a long way in baseball, but there’s no doubt he made the right choice with football.

His coach knew almost instantly he was going to be something special on the gridiron.

"He threw for like four touchdowns and ran for two and literally went out and dominated the game after only one week of practice," Head said. "As soon as I saw him play in that first game, I knew he was something special and had that 'It' factor."

Siemian’s high school career led him to earn a scholarship to Northwestern, but in college, his numbers were mediocre. He threw 27 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions with a 58.9 percent completion rate. It was enough to get him drafted and gave him a shot in the NFL.

Although he’s the starter for the Broncos, there are still several question marks surrounding his game. Can he play well enough to retain the job for all 16 games? Will Lynch unseat him after a few poor outings?

It’s a situation worth watching this season as the Broncos look to repeat with another Super Bowl ring.

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Trevor Siemian

Denver Broncos

National Football League