Is Broyles staying or going? Listen to this, then decide for yourself
Published: 12/27/2010 2:12 PM
Last Modified: 12/27/2010 2:12 PM
PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — If you think you know what Ryan Broyles is going to do, you probably don’t.
Will Broyles return to Oklahoma next year to play his senior season as a Sooner?
Or will he decide he’s had enough of the college life and jump to the NFL?
Take a look at what Broyles said to a small group of reporters Monday morning at the J.W. Marriott Camelback Inn.
“I feel like I’ve been here and I’ve done my thing,” Broyles said. “If I were to come back, it’d be a great situation. I’m from Norman, so I have all my family and friends there. It’s not like I hate the place, so that wouldn’t be a reason to leave.
“I don’t feel like I owe the university anything. You know? They’ve definitely been great to me. I’ve met a lot of great people through it, great coaches, great teammates. But at the end of the day, you do have to sit back and worry about your future as well.”
That was Broyles’ reply to my question of whether a sense of loyalty to his teammates, his school and the program he has helped take to another level would weigh into his decision.
I asked Broyles if the likelihood OU would be a consensus preseason No. 1 next year and would be a strong favorite to win the 2011 national championship if he (and linebacker Travis Lewis) came back had any influence on his decision.
“Hey, that’s a great deal,” he said. “If that’s the case, you get to soak on that all offseason. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked until the season’s over.”
A couple of questions were asked about DeMarco Murray’s year as a fifth-year senior and how seeing what Murray accomplished this season impacted Broyles.
“Those summers is what makes you think about (leaving),” Broyles said. “It’s hard to come back and work out with Smitty (Jerry Schmidt) and the strength coaches. It’s hard to even think about it, because we beat our bodies up so much. But at the end of the day, it definitely benefits us. But him being a fifth-year senior, everyone’s like, ‘You don’t want to be that guy.’ But it pays off in the end.
“I feel like if it’s not time for you to leave, then you have no regrets. Workouts are always gonna be in our life if you’re an athlete. That’s the only thing I can see that would be a bad thing about being a fifth-year senior.”
Lastly, I asked him about the NFL’s impending labor stoppage and the possibility there might not even be a draft. (“Listenting to most people's opinion, this would be the very worst year to come out as an underclassman, because of all the labor issues and uncertainty,” coach Bob Stoops said last week.)
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard,” Broyles said. “But they’ve said that in the past as well. It’s just nothing you can play with. No one wants to play for a discount. That’s what coach Stoops says. It’s become more of a reality and makes more sense to me. But I do have a decision to make and I’ll make it after the game.”
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
