SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 06: Matt Paradis #61 of the Denver Broncos blocks for Brock Osweiler #17 of the Denver

KUSA - Players say all the time they got where they were through hard work.

They don’t know hard work. Try growing up on a cattle ranch in rural Idaho like Broncos center Matt Paradis did.

Why in his day, he was feeding cows and driving the family farm truck from the age of kindergarten. No wonder the Broncos center was the only player on both sides of the ball to play every snap this year.

“We started chores when we were 5 years old, every one of us, me and my siblings, when we would start kindergarten you could pick the AM or PM session,” Paradis said. “I don’t know how it works in Colorado but in Idaho you do AM or PM.

“Every one of us would do the PM session and so in the mornings in the winter we’d go help our dad feed cows. We’d go drive the vehicle to feed the cows so he would have someone to help and then we’d go to kindergarten after the (livestock) pack.’’

Paradis played 8-man football for Council High School and was discovered through the three Boise State football camps he attended prior to his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. At the time he was a defensive end.

None of the Boise State Broncos coaches knew who Paradis was. They did start noticing how he was whipping on some of their recruits.

“And so  ... the defensive line coach at the time, he pulled me aside and said, “Who are you?’’ Paradis said. “He said you need to go over there and talk to coach Harsin who’s their head  coach now and was the offensive coordinator at the time who recruited Idaho so that’s how it all worked out.”

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