(Riverton, WY) – Own your mistakes. Take accountability for yourself. When you have success, share it with others. And fly fish as much as you can.
Those were the common themes delivered by former National Football League quarterback Kyle Orton Monday night as he spoke with the Riverton High School football team at the RHS Auditorium.
Orton is no stranger to Fremont County. The Iowa-native told County 10 if he could fly fish anywhere in the world, he’d be right here. Kyle has been hitting the water here for the last few days. The exact location he chose not to disclose… we mentioned he’s a true fisherman after all. He accepted an invitation to meet and speak with the RHS student-athletes after a day tracking trout. During a 30 minute pre-practice session he took time to answer questions and sign several autographs.
His football journey began in Iowa, which led to Indiana for college, becoming a Purdue Boilermaker. Purdue’s Head Coach at the time was a legend in the Cowboy State, Joe Tiller. After four years under Tiller, Kyle was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2005. Eventually, he’d play three seasons with the Denver Broncos, a year with the Kansas City Chiefs, two with the Dallas Cowboys and finished his career in 2014 a Buffalo Bill. Since retiring, he’s remained active in football as a high school coach for his Iowa alma mater.
During the Q&A Monday night, we learned Orton’s favorite wide receiver was Broncos and Bears legend Brandon Marshall. His favorite leader to play with was Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. His favorite piece of advice is to find other people that work hard at the same things you do and push each other.
Perhaps most interestingly though, he was presented with the question, “if you could go back in time and play one more game at any level, where would you go?” Orton thought for a second, skipped being an NFL celebrity or a college football success and said, “honestly I’d go back to high school and play with my friends.” Doubling down with, “there’s just something special about playing with your buddies.”
Kyle summed up the session by telling the Wolverines to take practice one day at a time, “try to win each day. Practice hard. Like really fricking hard.”
County 10 caught up with Orton for a quick chat after his time with the students, you can hear that interview in the player below or by searching for the County 10 Sports Podcast on all major podcast platforms.
Riverton football begins their season August 28th at Powell. Every Wolverine game all season can be seen on the County 10 YouTube channel or find our radio broadcasts on 105.1 JACK-FM!
