The 2022 Red-White Spring Game is almost here for the Oklahoma football Sooners.
This won’t be just any spring scrimmage, though. A who’s who list of former players will be returning to Owen Field on Saturday for the Heisman statue dedication for Baker Mayfield and the inaugural spring game for the Sooners under Brent Venables. And it also marks a huge recruiting weekend.
Among the returnees is Ryan Broyles, who played for Bob Stoops’ Sooners from 2007-2011. Broyles was a three-sport star coming out of Norman High School, where he excelled in track and basketball in addition to football. Broyles was a three-star recruit and joined Oklahoma’s 2007 class.
Broyles redshirted in 2007, before becoming one of Sam Bradford’s many weapons in the 2008 season. Broyles caught a then-freshman-record 46 passes for 687 yards as Oklahoma played in the national championship game and Bradford won the Heisman trophy.
During a tumultuous 2009 season for the Sooners, Broyles continued to get better and better, even as Landry Jones replaced Bradford for most of the year. His punt return in the 2009 edition of Bedlam remains one of the best plays of his career, and he was named the MVP of the 2009 Sun Bowl victory against Stanford after catching three touchdown passes.
Broyles entered 2010 as the top receiver for the Sooners, And he certainly played like it, as OU bounced back to win the Big 12 title. He had his most productive season as a Sooner, catching 131 passes for 1,622 yards. He also added 14 touchdown receptions.
He was instrumental in OU’s comeback win over Nebraska in the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game, the last time the two rivals would play each other before a home and home in 2021 and 2022. The Sooner won the Fiesta Bowl that year over UConn.
Broyles returned for one final season in 2011, as Oklahoma entered the year with high hopes. The season did not go as many Sooner fans hoped, but Broyles did capture a slice of history. In October against Kansas, he caught his 317th pass, which, at the time, was good for the all-time FBS record. Unfortunately, his college career ended with a torn ACL midway through that 2011 season. Broyles finished his career with 46 total touchdowns and 349 career receptions.
Broyles was drafted in the second round (54th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 2012 NFL Draft. Injuries crept up on him once again, however, and ultimately derailed his NFL career. He was released by the Lions upon his request in 2015. Since then, he has spun his NFL earnings into a successful real estate business back in Norman.
Broyles’ final years as a Sooner were also Brent Venables’ final seasons at Oklahoma up until his hiring as the new Oklahoma head coach in early December. Broyles knows what Venables is like on the field and in the locker room, and his return on Saturday, as an offensive player, speaks volumes about Venables’ impact on his former players and what they believe the new head man will be able to do in 2022 and beyond.