Recruiting radar reaches Broussard

BATON ROUGE, La. – At 6 feet 2-1/2 and 288 pounds, Risean Broussard is tough to miss when he is on the football field. The only problem is he hasn't been on the football field much over the past two seasons.

As a freshman and sophomore, Broussard played at Lake Charles (La.) Washington-Marion and was a force on the defensive interior. However his sophomore season was cut short due to injury and he only played in four games.

Broussard still managed to make a name for himself with an incredible combine performance at the Nike Football SPARQ Challenge in New Orleans following that sophomore season. At the event, he jumped 27.5 inches at 289 pounds, ran a 5.2 40, and bench pressed 185 pounds 30 reps. All of that was done while Broussard was only 16 years old.

Fast forward more than a year later and Broussard has yet to play another meaningful down of football. After transferring from Washington-Marion to Lake Charles (La.) LaGrange, Broussard was forced to sit out his junior season. Once again though, Broussard reappeared in an offseason combine to make a statement.

At the Schuman National Underclassman Combine in Baton Rouge, La., Broussard put up freakish numbers.

He measured in at 6-2.5, 288 pounds. He ran the 40 in 5.03 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.65 seconds, pumped out 34 reps of 185 pounds on bench and jumped a ridiculous 29.5 inches in the vertical and 9 feet 4 inches in the standing broad. Most of those numbers would be good for a skill player, much less a 288 pound defensive lineman.

Broussard then proceeded to be a force in the one-on-one period and showed that he possesses much more than just combine ability. His performance earned him the overall camp MVP.

"Everything went like I planned," Broussard said of the combine. "I wish I could've run a better 40 time but everything else has been A-ok."

Broussard credits his athleticism to his father, Donald Ray Broussard who played football at Southern and Grambling. Combine director Dave Schuman runs camps nationwide every weekend but he took notice of Broussard.

"I thought athletically he was one of the most explosive big men I've seen in a long time judging from his broad and his vertical," Schuman said. "From a football skills standpoint, his upside is unbelievable. From an athletic standpoint, he already has the athleticism of top 1-A defensive lineman."

In the one-on-one drills as well as on film, Broussard showed that he is still extremely raw and has a lot of polish that still needs to be added to his game but with his athletic ability his potential is through the roof.

"I looked at his film that came in and he's raw as a lineman," said Coach Schuman. "His explosiveness is excellent and as he hones his skill set he could be an amazing 3-technique or even a nose."

Despite the obstacles of his transfer and sophomore injury, Broussard has created enough waves with his athleticism that the college interest is already extremely heavy. Currently he is hearing from major programs like LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama and Tennessee along with multiple other Division-I schools. He is also slowly finding out about some serious college scholarship offers.

"I have offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma and Alabama," he said. "They send me letters. I just go to the school that I transferred from and pick up my letters from there. They're still trying to find me and that's why I'm glad I came [to the Schuman camp] that way they know I'm at LaGrange."

Broussard hopes to continue to get his name out and impress coaches with his offseason performances with some camps scheduled for the future.

"I'm looking to show them that I'm still in shape and I'm still working hard at everything I do," he said. "I'm looking at one of Florida State's camps and Oregon and LSU. I'm hoping that they have another camp. I'm looking at any camp that is close so that I can ride to."

Broussard was excited to get the opportunity to take in a junior day at the homestate program of LSU and he has made it no secret that the Tigers are high on his list.

"It went well," he said of the junior day. "I like their campus. I like everything, how the program is run. That's why they're one of my top interests. LSU, that's my hometown school. Most likely I'll be a Tiger. I'm waiting for an official offer. They're telling me that they want to offer me but I'm waiting for it."

With his athleticism, Broussard's best days are ahead of him, particularly now that schools know where he is.