HELENA — Helena native and 2019 Capital High graduate Brian Buschini recently earned an NFL rookie minicamp invite from the New York Giants, something he said his hometown community helped him achieve.
“Some of the people I had in my life, especially coach [Dick] McMahon over at Capital High, he helped me out so much in high school, and he’s just been a great friend and mentor through this whole process,” Buschini told MTN Sports during a Zoom interview. “And I would say the process is definitely more about the people than about the places, so that’s something that I’ll always cherish, is just my relationship with him. And how much he helped me in high school especially.”
Buschini began his collegiate career with the University of Montana, where he’d be named the FCS’ top punter in 2021. Buschini then spent another three years punting for a Power 5 program in Nebraska.
Buschini’s will to succeed is something his high school special teams coach said was always apparent.
“He had a can-do attitude that he had right there,” McMahon, Capital's former special teams coach, told MTN Sports while sitting in the bleachers at Vigilante Stadium. “He wanted to just be as good as he could be. I remember driving by Custer Avenue one time, and he was out there in the snow. God, it was right over Christmas break, and probably two, two-and-a-half feet of snow out there. And he’s shoveling off an area big enough so that he can go kick field goals.”
And while McMahon credited Buschini’s tireless will to succeed, Buschini said it was his coach’s faith that allowed him to be successful.
“There’s not very many people that I run across that are as about the kids as he is,” said Buschini. “So, that’s something that meant a ton to me, and just being able to build that relationship with him over the past few years through football has been really special to me, as well.”
McMahon fondly remembers the moment he learned that Buschini had gotten an NFL rookie minicamp invite.
“Well, I always told him, ‘Kick the sky, kick the sky, kick the sky’ because that’s something we always say to each other,” said McMahon. “When he texted me and he said that the Giants were offering him just a chance to walk on, I said, 'Make the most of the opportunity. All you needed was a chance, and now you got that.' And we just signed off and said, ‘Hey, kick the sky.’ And he says, ‘Will do coach, will do.’”
The Giants' rookie minicamp runs Friday through Sunday.
