Now a Senior, Oklahoma's Justin Broiles has 'Figured Out Who He is as a Player'
Probably an underrated aspect of Alex Grinch’s rebuild of the Oklahoma defense: Justin Broiles reemergence.
“He’s been great, man,” head coach Lincoln Riley said Thursday. “The spring and then this fall camp, I’ve been as proud of him as anybody on our roster.
“I think he’s really figured out who he is as a player. And I think for some of these guys that’s a challenge because so many of these guys in high school are so much better players than everybody they’re playing against that they can do everything well.”
Broiles was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the state of Oklahoma when he signed with the Sooners in 2017. His career has been up and down — mostly down, probably — as he’s battled stiff competition for playing time as well as injuries.
Justin Broiles
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He was a consensus 4-star recruit out of John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City, ranked the No. 10 cornerback in the nation by ESPN, No. 22 by 247 Sports and No. 25 by Rivals.
But Broiles almost never played cornerback at OU. Instead, he’s been a safety in and out of the lineup.
He redshirted in 2017, then made five starts in 2018 and played in 11 games. In 2019, Broiles played in all 14 games. In those two seasons, he contributed 50 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and three passes defensed.
He ended 2019 on a Peach Bowl roller coaster: he made a career-high 11 tackles, but, pressed into emergency duty after an injury and an ejection, was exposed in coverage by LSU’s record-setting offense.
Justin Broiles and Justin Jefferson
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That led to Broiles playing in just six games last season. He made six tackles before missing the last five games with an injury.
And suddenly, in Year 3 of Grinch’s defensive reclamation project, Broiles — a fifth-year senior — is apparently ready to break out.
In April, Broiles tried to explain his slow and yet sudden rise.
“Just understanding the mental aspect of the game,” he said. “Not so much understanding the playbook, the scheme or what we're doing. (But) the actual mental side of the game, the understanding of process, the understanding of how to be present in the moment, the understanding of how to get into a flow state. Understanding how to stop and cut off all thinking and it's all trust. I wouldn't say it's anything more than just that.
“I’ve always been physically gifted. Talented. I've always had the work ethic. I felt like the one thing that kept holding me back was myself and I had to figure out how could I unlock all of that. And simply by doing the mental training and the mental preparation and the mental rehearsal, the sport psychology side of the game. That allowed me to take my game to another level, because that allowed me to unlock all the attributes and everything that I had stored up.”
The 5-foot-10, 192-pound Broiles is on this week’s depth chart as a backup at free safety to senior Pat Fields, a two-year returning starter. One of Grinch’s goals has been to elevate someone behind Fields and strong safety Delarrin Turner-Yell — someone who’s experience Grinch could count on.
Justin Broiles
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
That’s become Broiles, and it came just in time for what Sooner Nation hopes is a solid run at a national championship. It’s because of the patience of players like Broiles, linebacker Caleb Kelly and defensive end Isaiah Thomas that this defense has finally developed the kind of depth that might be able to compete for a title. Now Grinch has another experienced DB that he can trust.
“He’s playing the best ball of his life by far,” Riley said. “He’s really playing well. I’ll say this: he’s a kid that is just, he’s a fighter, man. I mean he’s an absolute fighter. He’s always — through the ups and the downs — I think he’s always believed in himself. He’s always grinded. He’s never shied away from the work, from the criticism, from the coaching, the success, the failures, everything in between. He’s met ‘em head on, and because of that, he’s just consistently gotten better. He really has. He’s really turned himself into a really good player.”
