Broughton chasing offers

Brock Broughton uses the word "work." It's not hard to figure out why, either. The pursuit of scholarship offer No. 1 hasn't been easy. It's also ongoing. The next step involves some travel.

Broughton will attend junior days on the campuses of Minnesota and Arizona State in the month ahead. First up is his Feb. 2 trip to Minneapolis, and he'll hit ASU on the weekend of Feb. 23. Vacation it's not. Broughton is hoping for a return on his investment.

He's not particularly interested in seeing new places or expanding his horizons. Those are bonuses. The running back wants only one thing. And he intends to earn it quickly.

"I kind of feel like these two junior days could produce an offer," Broughton said on Monday. "I'm still working toward that first one. I don't know for sure on when it's going to come, but I feel like I could get them at these junior days. I feel like I might. I don't know for sure, but … Arizona State just invited me today. I'm going to go.

"They've both been in contact with me for a while. Arizona State started in Nov. Minnesota is kind of new."

His focus is broader than that, though. There are other options in play. Broughton says Kansas State is in frequent contact with his high school coaches and could also be mulling an offer. He says he would, in an ideal world, prefer to stay close to home for college. At this point, he's not getting picky, though. There's no time for that.

"K-State is involved and Alabama just started sending me mail," Broughton said. "I get stuff from Nebraska, too. Just basically them and Tulsa and a couple of other schools.

"It doesn't really matter where I go. It would be nice to stay close to home, but my parents said they'll travel anywhere to watch me play. That's nice to know."

As a junior at Kearney (Mo.) High School, Broughton rushed for 1595 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was also selected to the 5A Missouri All-State team.