After news broke last week of an impending and lucrative contract extension for Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz, an assistant coach at his former Wisconsin high school reached out by text to offer congratulations.

Meinerz’s reply was telling.

“Thank you very much,’’ he wrote. “It’s been an insane journey.”

Indeed it has been. Meinerz was barely recruited out of Hartford (Wisc.) Union High School following his senior season of 2016 and assistant Aaron Rusch reached out to Wisconsin-Whitewater, his alma mater, to recommend the Division III school pursue Meinerz.

Meinerz ended up starring for the Warhawks before his senior season of 2020 was cancelled due to government pandemic restrictions. Meinerz then drilled himself into great shape by working out in the Canadian wilderness and posted a video of it when Kevin Bullis, his coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater, said he was just trying to get a “sniff” from an NFL team.

Meinerz eventually was invited to the Senior Bowl and impressed NFL personnel. He was a third-round pick by the Broncos in 2021 and on Monday officially signed a four-year, $80 million contract extension that takes him through the 2028 season and ties him for being the NFL’s third-highest-paid guard.

“It’s just an unbelievable story,’’ Rusch told The Denver Gazette after having traded texts with Meinerz. “He’s as humble as they get. He works his tail off and he deserves every single penny of what he’s getting.”

Meinerz has been on the books to earn $3.366 million in 2024, the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. When it comes to new money, his deal, averaging $20 million per season, trails only Philadelphia’s Landon Dickerson ($21 million average) and Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom ($20.5 million) among NFL guards. Also having $20 million per year averages are Carolina’s Robert Hunt and Indianapolis’ Quenton Nelson.

News broke last Tuesday about Meinerz’s impending extension. A source then told The Denver Gazette that Meinerz would sign the deal Monday, a day before Denver veterans report Tuesday to training camp at Broncos Park.

The Broncos on Wednesday and Thursday will hold what the team calls practices during an “acclimation period.” The first practice open to the public is Friday.

After learning of Meinerz’s impending extension, Bullis also reached out to the guard last week by text and received a thank you. Bullis was Wisconsin Whitewater’s head coach for eight years before retiring after the 2022 season.

“It’s amazing,’’ Bullis told The Denver Gazette of how far Meinerz has come. “The part that is so mindboggling is how Division I schools missed him in recruiting. But he didn’t let not being a Division I recruit stop him from what he wanted to do. He laid it on the line and continues to do it every day.”

Bullis first learned about Meinerz when he got a text after the 2016 season from Rusch, who graduated from Hartford Union in 2006 and played wide receiver at Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007-10. He was the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Hartford Union when Meinerz played for the Orioles and remains in that position.

“(Rusch) texted me one day and said, ‘Coach, nobody’s recruiting this kid. You got to take a look at him,'” Bullis said.

Bullis then watched film of Meinerz. Since the football season was over, he sent then-Whitewater offensive line coach Brent Allen to watch him wrestle for the Orioles.

“I had basically told (Bullis) that if you don’t get this guy, someone’s going to get him and you’re going to be disappointed,’’ Rusch said. “I talked to Coach Bullis and to Brent and said, ‘This guy is a hidden gem.’ So Brent says, ‘OK, I’ll come down and check him out at our wrestling meet.’ He messages me back the next day and says ‘This guy is an animal. I’m not sure why he’s not getting many offers but we need him.”’

Whitewater coaches were nervous that a Division I school soon would swoop in and land Meinerz, but he ended up playing three seasons for the Warhawks. He was named a Division III All-American as a junior in 2019.

Then came the cancellation of the 2020 season. But Meinerz was undaunted. He went to a remote, unnamed island in Ontario for an intense workout session.

He lugged around giant propane tanks, squatted piles of wood, used big jugs of water as barbells and chopped wood. He worked on his stance while using trees as defensive linemen. He put on YouTube a video of what he did and it now has more than 50,000 views.

“He just wanted to get a sniff from an NFL team at that point,’’ Bullis said. “That opened the door for an opportunity. It was well earned.”

After Meinerz looked good at the Senior Bowl in 2021, the Broncos took him with the No. 98 overall pick in the draft. He was a part-time starter as a rookie before moving into the lineup regularly at right guard in 2022.

Meinerz last season was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 2 guard in the NFL, but he didn’t get any All-Pro recognition and was a Pro Bowl snub. But Rusch figures there will be plenty of honors to come for Meinerz as he continues his “insane journey.”

“He’ll definitely be a Pro Bowler. And if he keeps up at the level he’s going, he could find himself in the Hall of Fame one day,’’ Rusch said. “I have no doubt about that.”