Oklahoma football: 5 great Sooners who were NFL busts

While it can be said of many Oklahoma football greats that they wasted little time making an impact, few have wasted as little of time as wide receiver Ryan Broyles in doing so. As a redshirt freshman in the 2008 season in his college debut, he set school freshman records with seven catches for 141 yards. He continued on a record-setting freshman pace as he finished with 46 catches for 687 yards and six touchdowns.

The following season, Broyles really started to put his stamp on the program as he went off for 76 receptions with 964 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, it was his 2010 season that was truly one for the ages. The Oklahoma football standout registered 131 receptions for 1,622 yards and 14 touchdowns and continued to star in postseason play. But he wasn’t even done there.

In his senior season, Broyles came to work again and was dominating Big 12 competition for essentially the third consecutive season. Entering November with eight games played, he had already crossed the 1,000-yard mark and had 10 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL against Baylor, ending his season early. He’s still, by far, Oklahoma’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for a career.

Despite the injury in his senior season, Broyles was still taken with the No. 54 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. However, he played in just 21 games over the next three seasons with just 32 catches for 420 yards and two scores in his career. He was released prior to the 2015 season and hasn’t played in the NFL since.