Just three days before the election, none of the speakers slotted ahead of Donald Trump at his Saturday night rally in Denver were Colorado GOP politicians, many of whom have said they would vote for Trump only as a show of party unity — as is the case with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner — or more forcefully distanced themselves from him, as U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, has done in the 6th Congressional District.

But Trump, as he has for months, did have the backing of a potent local figure anyway — former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan, who took to the stage to thunderous cheers in front of several thousand at the National Western Complex, called Trump a proven “business leader” and testified to the good nature of Trump’s character, which has repeatedly been called into question because numerous controversial remarks throughout the campaign.

Shanahan recalled playing with Trump at a golf tournament in 2006 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

“He’s met every caddie. He knew their first, he knew their last name. He knew what they did. He knew where they lived. He knew his parents,” Shanahan said. “I had never seen anybody do that.”

Shanahan said Trump signed autographs for children watching the tournament and greeted volunteers throughout the day.

“I had been in Tahoe for 13 or 14 years before I played with him,” Shanahan said. “I had never had anybody who did that for 18 holes, six hours, where he met with and spent time with every person. And I told my wife, ‘I know why this guy is so successful. I know why this guy’s the best in the business.’ People don’t just do that. That’s what type of guy Donald Trump is.”

Shanahan said he tried to send Trump Super Bowl tickets one year as a gesture of thanks for favors Trump had done for Shanahan through the intervening years, only for Trump to return them.

“He says, ‘Hey, thanks for doing that, but I didn’t expect anything in return,'” Shanahan recalled.

In June, Shanahan hosted a fundraiser at his home in Colorado with beer executive Pete Coors before Trump’s visit for the Western Conservative Summit.

“When you have a football player that has passion and work ethic and talent, that’s when they have a chance to be in the Hall of Fame,” Shanahan continued. “But if they don’t have passion, they don’t have work ethic, then there’s no chance, regardless of how talented he is. But you can see Donald Trump has passion, has work ethic, has energy.”