KALISPELL — Ben Winters has started on Kalispell Glacier’s offensive line for four years and he is looking to make a big splash during his last season with the Wolfpack in 2024.
It’s easy to tell when watching Winters that his duties to the team are to protect the quarterback, be a leader and to have a good time.
“I try to be the fun guy, you already get enough from all the coaches and all that, all them being serious, and I just try to be the fun guy all the time,” Winters said.
Winters may be a fun guy, but he also makes sure to work hard on the field and set an example for younger players.
Glacier quarterback Jackson Presley said it pays to have someone with that attitude on the team.
“Ben’s one of my best friends. He’s someone on the team who can really just get the job done,” Presley said. “He’s able to really help every single one of our players and he makes me better. He makes every single player on this team better, and I’m truly grateful that I have him on my line. He’s a dude.”
After years of hard work in the trenches, Winters has recently accepted an offer to play at the next level with the Montana State Bobcats.
He reflected on what went into making that choice.
“Montana State was just a place that I love being at. It was so welcoming, and their culture was pretty good. It’s kind of like our culture right now. It had the same vibe, so I really liked that place,” Winters said.
Even with Montana State in his future, Winters is still looking forward to this season and winning with Glacier.
Winters’ coach, Grady Bennett, said his leadership will take himself and the team very far this season.
“Ben’s the first four-year starter (on the offensive line at Glacier). We’ve had some guys that have played a little bit as freshmen, but Ben has started for four years, so he’s maybe our first and only because that’s really rare,” Bennett said.
“What’s been fun to me is to watch how Ben has grown as a leader. He’s really taking over now and leading that front, we’ve got a bunch of inexperience because we’ve graduated guys that had started three years, and Ben is doing a phenomenal job of leading those guys.”
Winters and Glacier kick off the 2024 season on Thursday against Great Falls.
