Ryan Broyles - Is It Possible To Have A Breakout Season When You've Been Spectacular For Two Years Already?

Editor's Note: As you can tell by looking at the the wallpaper behind our site today we''re being sponsored by Sonic. America's drive-in wants to know who you believe is the, "hot dog" of the team. For me, the answer was both logical and easy. It can't be anyone other than Ryan Broyles, right? Log on to flavortouchdown.com to enter for a chance to win the Sonic Flavor Touchdown Sweepstakes. You could win a VIP football trip for 6 to the bowl game of your choice, including, 4 days/ 3 nights of luxury accommodations and Roundtrip airfare.    

Ryan Broyles just gets it done. From day one we know that Oklahoma had a special player who is able to electrify a crowd on any offensive play by taking a hand-off on a reverse or end-around run, catching a pass and turning upfield for 40-plus yards or by gliding through kick coverage while returning a punt for a touchdown. The kid is just special! The question is though, can a player of Ryan Broyles' magnitude actually be having a breakout season in his third year?

It isn't like Broyles just showed up and went to work this season. In his first game ever as a Sooner, during the 2008 season, he torched the Cincinnati defense for 141 yards on seven catches, setting the Oklahoma record for receiving yards by a freshman. He ended his freshman campaign with 46 receptions for 687 yards and six touchdowns. 

He'd almost double that the next season. With the injury plague that struck Oklahoma's football team in 2009, Ryan Broyles was the shinning moment in a rather dark season. He hauled in 89 passes for 1,120 yards and 15 touchdowns. He culminated the season with a record setting performance in the Sun Bowl when he caught 13 passes (Sun Bowl record) for 156 yards and three touchdowns (OU and Sun Bowl record).

Obviously he was no slouch coming into the 2010 season but did we really expect him to be this good? Through Oklahoma's first eight games of the season he's broken his single game reception record and receiving yards per game record. He's averaging 13.1 yards per reception with 127.2 yards and a touchdown per game. His complete season total is 78 receptions for 1,018 yards and 8 touchdowns. With four games remaining on Oklahoma's schedule he's on pace to shatter the marks he set as a sophomore.

Even more telling about Broyles' impact on the Oklahoma football program is the fact that he's going to break to career marks set by another great Sooner receiver. He's only 9 receptions away from breaking Mark Clayton's career record of 221 and three touchdowns away from Clayton's career touchdown record of 31. Broyles should hold both of those records by halftime of the Texas Tech game in Norman a week from this Saturday but he's also on pace to break Clayton's career receiving record of 3,241 yards. If he stays on his current pace we'll see that record fall during the Baylor game. 

Possibly the most amazing thing is that Ryan Broyles has done all of this in just three seasons. Going into the 2010 season we knew he was good and that he'd be Landry Jones' primary target. Especially with unproven receivers on the other side of the ball and no tight end to speak of. You just knew that opposing defenses were going to key on him and yet every weekend he's gone out and done his thing. Breakout year? Yeah, I think its possible because we're seeing Ryan Broyles mature and reach his full potential before our very eyes.