BILLINGS — At Rocky Mountain College, quarterback Trent Nobach fires pinpoint passes. But he’s also athletic enough to play golf for the Battlin' Bears should he choose.
So why didn’t he turn to the tee box after suffering such a gruesome football injury two years ago?
“Yeah, it kind of crossed my mind. But the thing I kept going back to was, I can play golf, but you only get football for so long,” Nobach said.
But doctors weren’t convinced Nobach would ever return to football.
“The morning before the surgery, the doctors told me it’s probably not in the cards to play again,” he recalled.
It was the wrong statement to make to a relentless competitor.
“I kind of took that as a challenge,” he said.
Nobach was Rocky’s starting QB two years ago. And after a season-opening win, the Bears’ opening drive of game two produced one of the grisliest injuries a sport can deliver.
“So, I dislocated my femur from the hip socket, then the hip socket shattered,” he explained.
RMC head coach Chris Stutzriem recounted the moment after the injury: “At first, you know, with pads on and stuff, you’re like, ‘OK, let’s see what happens.’ And then, kind of the look from head trainer Taylor (Canfield) was, oh boy, we need to get the ambulance out here.”
The thigh bone is the strongest and heaviest in the human body, and recovery — estimated at 18 months — is still in progress.
“I mean, that was a long process for him as a young man. He works his butt off. … I mean, to have that hip surgery, to be in bed, to need help getting up … and still pull a 4.0 (GPA) that fall, that’s impressive,” Stutzriem said.
Despite sitting out the remainder of 2023 and all of last season, Nobach was still voted a team captain. This spring, he is back competing for the starting job in his No. 12 jersey.
“I’ve been wearing it for a while and Tom Brady, all the greats … just kind of (wear it),” Nobach said.
As he works on hip rotation while visiting during a light Rocky workout, Nobach is also working on his master’s in accountancy.
But back to golf, where it would’ve been easy — and understandable — to trade his cleats for spikes at Rocky. As a scratch player, he likely would’ve remained on scholarship.
“I think he likes golf in his spare time, but I’ll still beat him. He won’t admit that or say that,” Stutzriem said with a laugh.
“No, he can’t,” Nobach confidently countered with a smile.
Rocky’s spring game is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. followed by the school's Bear Bash fundraiser at 5 p.m. inside the Fortin Center.
