Offensive lineman is not a glamorous job, but it is an important one.

And Hudson Capser helps lead a Flathead Braves unit that is one of the best in Class AA. 

Capser is a three-year starter and a two-year captain for the Braves at left tackle, but on top of that he is a 4.0 student with aspirations well beyond the football field. 

“He is the type of kid that everyone wants in their program,” Braves coach Mac Roche said. “He does all the right things. He hasn’t missed a lift in six years and he is just a leader. He is the guy that everyone gravitates towards.” 

As for football, Capser connects with Kohen Rilley and Jakob Berry to form a near-impenetrable left side of the Flathead offensive line and a defensive front that troubles offenses around Montana. 

“All three of those guys have just said, ‘This is ours and we are going to take it and run with it,’ “ Roche said of the trio. “They are all like stepbrothers out here. They aren’t afraid to hold each other accountable, and they are the first ones to get excited about the others doing something big.” 

It’s all about working together, or as Berry called it the “Bluetooth connection.” 

“Going into sophomore year we knew we were going to be starters, so we just had to have that brotherly bond on the left side,” Berry said. “We have been playing together for so long it just feels like we are connected, like Bluetooth. Whatever he does, I will match it.” 

“The competitive edge against each other made us better, but it also made us closer,” Capser said. “It’s five people on the line, but we are really just one unit. I think everyone on the line that I have played with I have a special connection with; me and Jakob call it ‘Bluetooth.’ ”  

“I think a lot of the credit goes to the coaches buying into us just as much as we have bought into them,” Rilley said. “With the help of the coaches, especially coach Burnham. He has done so much for us three seniors on the line. 

“I feel like having Hudson and Berry by my side, along with the rest of the line, it makes every day enjoyable. I wouldn’t get up and do this if it wasn’t with them.” 

The connection extends beyond the football field. All three spend seemingly every moment they aren’t in class in the room of offensive line coach AJ Burnham, working on getting better every minute of every day. 

“We spend a lot of time with them (coach Burnham and D-line coach Daniel Simmons) it’s something we need to do to help us grow as men, they are great role models,” Capser said. 

The trio didn’t always form a three-headed monster on the line. Initially Rilley had dreams of playing running back, while Capser planned to follow in his father Troy’s footsteps as a tight end. Then, during their sophomore year all three ended up on the line together. 

“It’s the movie theme of, ‘Uou score the touchdown, everybody loves it and everybody is having a great time,’ and O-line is one of those things where you don’t get that,” Capser said. “As I approached that threshold a couple weeks out from playing my first game at O-line it was a transition point. ... Moving from tight end to O-line is something you can’t really explain. It doesn’t sound like a big shift. There is no glory in it for us, but it is really something special.” 

Troy Capser also played a big factor in Hudson’s football career. The elder Capser was a member of Montana’s 1995 national championship winning team at tight end, and Hudson says seeing a photo of that team in his house was a major role in helping him get onto the football field. 

“He is inspirational, we have his roster picture up in our man cave and it’s something to see and to work towards,” Capser said. “He watches every game and texts me every morning after a game before I am awake telling me which plays I should look at and it’s something I wish I could talk to him more about how I really appreciate it.” 

As for finding his love of the game, that came after his freshman season. Capser said he just found something more that year. 

“I had just came off an injury and it was a lackluster year for me and I decided that I needed more out of it,” Capser said. “So I went hard in the offseason and I earned myself a two-way starting job. That is really when I figured out how much this means to me. Not just as a sport, but what it does for your life. It shows you how to work hard, do everything right and work through the hard stuff.” 

Capser has sparked that love into a senior season with 65 tackles through seven games, 10 coming for a loss. He also leads the Braves with 14 quarterback hurries. 

Now Capser and Flathead are ready to suit up Thursday at 7 p.m. for another Crosstown showdown at Legends Stadium. 

“I have grown up with this team, my parents have a portrait of me and my brothers in Braves jerseys when we were really little,” Capser said. “We are going to give it everything we have. I think everyone on this team is going to leave everything out there. We are coming to do our job.” 

After Crosstown, the Braves cap off the regular season with Senior Night against Missoula Sentinel the following Friday, and then any potential playoff matchups begin. 

Capser then has his pick of where he would like to attend college and apply his 4.0 knowledge. He’s narrowed it down to two options: Cornell and the University of Chicago. 

“Some college is going to get an absolute dynamite human being,” Roche said. “He is a 4.0 for life and he can get into any school he wants. He does all the right things.” 

“No matter where I end up I think I am going to be happy with the result. I have put everything I can into football and school,” Capser said. “I am just really grateful for the opportunities that I have and I’m not going to trade anything for it.”