Dallas DE in the spotlight
Even though he only played eight games in his junior season, defensive end prospect Braylon Broughton of Dallas (Texas) Hillcrest is already getting the looks that his coach thought he would get.
Hillcrest coach Clayton George says that when coaches see him up close, it's hard to not watch their jaws drop. His 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame is legit, according to George, and that is what makes him such a specimen.
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A 4.8-second forty-yard dash time doesn't hurt things either.
"He's still very young as a football player," George said. "He transferred from another school in the Dallas area where he was trying to play basketball, but he never played. Braylon shows up on our doorstep in August, and after sitting out the required games from transferring, he just explodes."
Broughton, who really had never played football before at the high school level, was at first put on the scout team to get him used to the speed.
However, George couldn't focus on his starting squad when he heard what was going on with his new defensive lineman.
"Every time the ball was in the air he just kept swatting it down," George said. "So we couldn't wait until after he sat out the games. He ended up with three sacks and around 50 tackles through only the eight games he played.
"Spring ball has really helped him because he's just getting better every practice."
Broughton, who also just started to learn about weight lifting, is a secret no more in the offer category. George just received a Kansas offer on his desk for his raw and very talented player.
"Oklahoma has been through here, Iowa, TCU, and really everybody big time school has been impressed by his size," George said. "Almost every coach said that they didn't have kids that looked this good on their roster right now."
Regardless of talent, his coach still is keeping him focused on what is truly important.
"We want to get him graduated and that's our focus," George said. "I feel confident that he will make it just fine and he is working hard in summer school to make sure he gets caught up on everything he needs to be."
"He's going to be something special."