TicketsWEST HARRISON, Ind. – You hear football coaches use the term all the time when a player gets hurt. "Next man in," they'll say.
The idea is that no one player is indispensable because right behind him is another ready to take his place. But coaches also know there are a handful of players they simply can't afford to lose if their team is going to be successful.
At the University of Cincinnati, running back Mike Boone falls into that category. So does defensive tackle Cortez Broughton. That's why head coach Luke Fickell and his staff have been extra cautious in training camp, making sure that Broughton, a 6-foot-2, 282-pound junior from Warner Robins, Ga., is fully recovered from a foot injury that forced him to miss most of spring practice.
"He's a guy that's done it," Fickell said. "Our guys respect him incredibly, the way he works, the energy he brings. He's a guy who's been out there battling when the real bullets are flying the last two years. He's got a great demeanor about what he does. When you're having a bad day, you look for certain guys to be around because they've always got a smile on their face, they've always got some energy for you. I know we need him on the field."
Broughton practiced Monday for the first time this summer and was on the field again Tuesday at the Higher Ground Retreat Center. He says he feels good and is ready to go, but he understands why the coaching staff is being so cautious. He didn't go into specifics of his injury, but remembers the exact day that it happened. At the time, he had no idea it would cause him to miss the rest of spring practice.
"I think it was the second day we had pads on," Broughton said. "It was March 23. I was coming around the edge and I planted my foot and I felt something and I was like, that doesn't feel right. The thing is you're missing time with your guys. And that's what you love, just grinding it out with your guys. You don't realize how much you miss it until you can't be a part of it."
Last year, Broughton was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection after recording 42 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He's determined to increase the sacks total this season as the anchor of a defensive line that's in a state of flux largely because of nagging injuries that have prevented Fickell from pointing to four sure starters.
"I couldn't tell you right now who the starters are," Fickell said, "but there's going to be four guys that can play at a high level."
Junior Marquise Copeland will join Broughton as a mainstay on the inside. Copeland made 59 tackles last year with 4.5 for loss and one sack. Junior defensive end Kevin Mouhon had 50 tackles with 9.5 for loss and one sack. Senior defensive end Mark Wilson and redshirt freshmen Marcus Brown and Curtis Brooks will also be in the mix.
The Bearcats will try to improve on a rather meager 2016 sack total of 19, which ranked 10th in the AAC, far behind league leader Temple's 40.
"I only had 2½ last year," Broughton said. "It's a game changer. I really don't like to talk about goals that much. I just want to be an effective pass rusher. It's not always me making the sack, it's being disruptive, making the quarterback uncomfortable. When the quarterback's uncomfortable, interceptions happen, tipped passes happen, sacks happen. If it's not me sackin' it's gonna be somebody else sackin'."
Broughton's passion for the game is reflected in the way he plays and practices, even on days when he's supposed to be taking it easy.
"He went more yesterday and got a little bit sore," Fickell said. "I didn't want him to go much today, but I saw him popping himself out there. He's hungry to do it. He wants to do it. On our end, we've got to be a little bit smarter to make sure we get him ready for game week."
Broughton was also passionate about baseball back when he was 12 years old. He was a pitcher and first baseman on the Warner Robins team that played in the 2009 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. His team went 3-0 in pool play before losing to Chula Vista, Calif., the team that went on to win the world championship. Warner Robins squandered a five-run lead in that game.
Even at such a young age, Broughton checked in at an intimidating 225 pounds. As a pitcher, he loved to fire as hard as he could from the Little League distance of 46 feet as opposed to 60 feet, 6 inches in the major leagues. He wasn't trying to fool anybody.
"I threw about 78 (miles per hour) from the mound," said Broughton, who pitched in two World Series games. "I still remember, trust me. They do a comparison from this distance at your age to MLB and it was up there around 102 or 104. I liked pitching, but I wasn't that accurate. I could just throw it hard. If I could hit the spot, that would be perfect, but sometimes I would just chuck it."
Broughton played one more year of baseball in the ninth grade, then decided to give it up to concentrate on football.
"I like hitting people," he said.
He meant with his body, not his 78 mph fastball.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
The idea is that no one player is indispensable because right behind him is another ready to take his place. But coaches also know there are a handful of players they simply can't afford to lose if their team is going to be successful.
At the University of Cincinnati, running back Mike Boone falls into that category. So does defensive tackle Cortez Broughton. That's why head coach Luke Fickell and his staff have been extra cautious in training camp, making sure that Broughton, a 6-foot-2, 282-pound junior from Warner Robins, Ga., is fully recovered from a foot injury that forced him to miss most of spring practice.
"He's a guy that's done it," Fickell said. "Our guys respect him incredibly, the way he works, the energy he brings. He's a guy who's been out there battling when the real bullets are flying the last two years. He's got a great demeanor about what he does. When you're having a bad day, you look for certain guys to be around because they've always got a smile on their face, they've always got some energy for you. I know we need him on the field."
Broughton practiced Monday for the first time this summer and was on the field again Tuesday at the Higher Ground Retreat Center. He says he feels good and is ready to go, but he understands why the coaching staff is being so cautious. He didn't go into specifics of his injury, but remembers the exact day that it happened. At the time, he had no idea it would cause him to miss the rest of spring practice.
"I think it was the second day we had pads on," Broughton said. "It was March 23. I was coming around the edge and I planted my foot and I felt something and I was like, that doesn't feel right. The thing is you're missing time with your guys. And that's what you love, just grinding it out with your guys. You don't realize how much you miss it until you can't be a part of it."
Last year, Broughton was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection after recording 42 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He's determined to increase the sacks total this season as the anchor of a defensive line that's in a state of flux largely because of nagging injuries that have prevented Fickell from pointing to four sure starters.
"I couldn't tell you right now who the starters are," Fickell said, "but there's going to be four guys that can play at a high level."
Junior Marquise Copeland will join Broughton as a mainstay on the inside. Copeland made 59 tackles last year with 4.5 for loss and one sack. Junior defensive end Kevin Mouhon had 50 tackles with 9.5 for loss and one sack. Senior defensive end Mark Wilson and redshirt freshmen Marcus Brown and Curtis Brooks will also be in the mix.
The Bearcats will try to improve on a rather meager 2016 sack total of 19, which ranked 10th in the AAC, far behind league leader Temple's 40.
"I only had 2½ last year," Broughton said. "It's a game changer. I really don't like to talk about goals that much. I just want to be an effective pass rusher. It's not always me making the sack, it's being disruptive, making the quarterback uncomfortable. When the quarterback's uncomfortable, interceptions happen, tipped passes happen, sacks happen. If it's not me sackin' it's gonna be somebody else sackin'."
Broughton's passion for the game is reflected in the way he plays and practices, even on days when he's supposed to be taking it easy.
"He went more yesterday and got a little bit sore," Fickell said. "I didn't want him to go much today, but I saw him popping himself out there. He's hungry to do it. He wants to do it. On our end, we've got to be a little bit smarter to make sure we get him ready for game week."
Broughton was also passionate about baseball back when he was 12 years old. He was a pitcher and first baseman on the Warner Robins team that played in the 2009 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. His team went 3-0 in pool play before losing to Chula Vista, Calif., the team that went on to win the world championship. Warner Robins squandered a five-run lead in that game.
Even at such a young age, Broughton checked in at an intimidating 225 pounds. As a pitcher, he loved to fire as hard as he could from the Little League distance of 46 feet as opposed to 60 feet, 6 inches in the major leagues. He wasn't trying to fool anybody.
"I threw about 78 (miles per hour) from the mound," said Broughton, who pitched in two World Series games. "I still remember, trust me. They do a comparison from this distance at your age to MLB and it was up there around 102 or 104. I liked pitching, but I wasn't that accurate. I could just throw it hard. If I could hit the spot, that would be perfect, but sometimes I would just chuck it."
Broughton played one more year of baseball in the ninth grade, then decided to give it up to concentrate on football.
"I like hitting people," he said.
He meant with his body, not his 78 mph fastball.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.