Have a day, Brock Osweiler.

On Monday morning, Osweiler worked out with the Broncos as their backup quarterback. Meeting, drills and lining up the No. 2 offense to practice plays against “air” or no defense.

Then weights, conditioning, shower and fly out to Phoenix where thanks to taking 21 credit hours online in his past two offseasons with the Broncos, Osweiler will walk in the Arizona State commencement ceremony Monday night in Tempe.

His degree is in interdisciplinary studies, which is a 50-50 split of political science and sociology.

“The past two years, it’s amazing how fast the time has gone,” Osweiler said. “But it was one of those deals where I knew myself and I knew the longer I waited, the harder it would be to go back. I just knocked it out as soon as possible.”

How Osweiler turns out as a Broncos quarterback nobody knows. Drafted two years ago in the second round, Osweiler has yet to take a meaningful snap, as he’s spent his professional career observing Peyton Manning win the NFL’s MVP award last season and finish second in the MVP balloting in 2012.

But Osweiler has been a disciplined, studious backup, getting to the team’s headquarters early each morning to watch film and master the playbook during the season.

He then took nine ASU credit hours during his first offseason, then 12 more this spring, plus an internship with Arizona congressional hopeful Andrew Walter, a former NFL quarterback and Grand Junction High School standout.

“He’s intrinsically motivated,” said Broncos quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp. “He has shown all the qualities you like to see as a starter in this league. With the way he prepares. When he’s quizzed in the classroom or on the field on the progressions or reads, he is always on top of it. He asks questions that are well thought out.

“And then I saw great progress physically on his mechanics in tightening up his drop and his footwork. He has shown all the signs. You never know until a guy plays, but he has shown everything for us to believe he’s on track to becoming a starting NFL quarterback.”

Among the many characteristics teams and fans want from their quarterback, the most cerebral of positions, shouldn’t a college degree be one of them?

“I always wanted to do very well at school because ultimately I always wanted to play in the NFL,” Osweiler said. “And to play in the NFL it always helps to play for a big school. And to play for a big school my parents always told me I had to have good grades. To me, school and football always correlated.”

In the Broncos’ quarterbacks meeting room, there is a large sign, easy to see. It says the three greatest attributes to NFL quarterback play are decision-making, timing and accuracy.

“It is in that order,” Knapp said. “The good ones in this profession that last make good decisions because they study, they plan ahead, they prepare well and they’re not surprised come Sundays. And that’s what Brock has done here with his college degree. He planned ahead, he stayed on top of his classes, he started early. It shows the preparation he has. And it’s carried over.”

The key to Osweiler finishing up his degree online was leaving Arizona State within striking distance — no small accomplishment considering he left school halfway through his true junior season to prepare for the NFL draft.

Major universities understand the time demands on football and other college sports to the point they usually extend a student-athlete’s scholarship through a fifth year. Osweiler got the jump by accumulating 21 credits before his freshmen class reported to its first semester.

Like many blue-chip football recruits, Osweiler graduated early from high school so he could participate in ASU’s spring ball program in 2009. He then stayed around the Tempe campus to work out and take summer classes.

That got him well ahead academically. After Osweiler dons the cap and gown for his ceremonial walk Monday night at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena, he will fly back to Denver on Tuesday and return to Broncos’ football activity Wednesday.

If Manning can miss a workout to be on Letterman, Osweiler can get a day off to get his degree.

“Now that I have it, I’ll put it in a frame, hang it up, know it’s there, and hopefully put it on the backburner for a long time,” Osweiler said. “Obviously I have very lofty goals here in the National Football League to complete. Hopefully, I won’t have to use that thing for a while.”

Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis