Months After Breaking Leg, Finding Tumor, Rocklin High QB Gets Call From Boise State
ROCKLIN (CBS13) — Eight months after a broken leg revealed a tumor in his hip, a Rocklin High School football player is getting a new opportunity with a college program.
It was a routine tackle in a game that put quarterback Max O'Rourke's senior season in doubt. It was an X-ray of his broken leg that put his future in jeopardy.
CBS13 spoke with Max in October when he was still recovering from a broken femur.
"At the time I didn't know when I was going to be ready," he said. "It was just more 'if' I was going to be ready. Just hoping that I would be."
Doctors discovered the tumor was benign, but the break took him from starter to sidelines during his senior season, jeopardizing his chances to play in college for a Division I school.
He spent several months using a wheelchair and crutches to get around.
"It was tough when there was so much that I couldn't do to distract myself," he said.
But he stayed vigilant on his recovery and loyal to his team, supporting them from the sidelines. By February, he was walking and even running on his own again.
"Being able to do something was just awesome," he said. "I was more excited than I was in pain."
Not long after, recruiters from Boise State called him and asked him to join their program.
"I'm incredibly excited just being able to play at a Division I level," he said. "That's something that I've always dreamed of as a kid and being able to keep going with that dream is awesome."
It wasn't the journey Max had in mind, but even with a broken leg, he reached his destination.
"It taught me a lot of life lessons; it gave me a lot of patience," he said. "Taught be to be very hopeful and gave me a stronger desire to get back to where I wanted to be."
Max will be a kicker for the Broncos, and he leaves for summer training camp on Saturday.
Despite missing most of his senior season, he was still named athlete of the year and inducted into the Rocklin High School Hall of Fame, and made first-team all-league.
