Oklahoma Sooners Football: Ryan Broyles Set to Break NCAA Records

Every Sooner fan knows his name.

His is like Spiderman... but with stickier fingers.

He is like Batman... but doesn't need the gadgets.

He is like Superman minus the cape and the nasty rock allergy. In fact, he craves the rock. Toss it to him and he gets even stronger.

We are, of course, talking about the greatest of heroes, super-Sooner receiver Ryan Broyles.

Broyles is a Norman native, a local boy who achieved the dream of donning the uniform of the team in Crimson and Cream.

Sooner fans will remember him as the best receiver of the Stoops era. Considering the run-oriented nature of Sooner offenses prior to Bob Stoops arrival in 1999, this makes him pretty much the greatest Oklahoma receiver of all time.

Better than Mark Clayton who sits right below him in the OU record books.

Better than Juaquin Iglesias who finished at No. 3 and mentored him his red-shirt freshman season in 2008.

Better than Malcolm Kelly, who left after his junior season to become the top receiver taken in the 2008 NFL draft.

Like any classic hero, Broyles has gone through his trials and tribulations to get where he is now but, for Sooner fans, the indiscretions of his freshman season are but a faint memory, if they are recalled at all. Many have forgotten that he was suspended prior to the start of the 2007 season despite being projected as a contributor due to the uncanny skills he displayed at such a young age.

Perhaps this was the best thing that could have happened to him. After all, look where he is now.

In 2010, Broyles led the country with 131 receptions while gaining 1,622 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns.

For his three year career, he has accumulated 266 catches for 3,429 yards and 35 scores.

He already owns those Sooner records and he still has one more season of eligibility remaining.

These are facts that most of the Sooner nation are aware of but how many are aware that he could end up holding several NCAA records as well?

These numbers put him within striking distance of the NCAA FBS records for both career receptions and receiving yards.

The career reception record is held by Taylor Stubblefield of Purdue with a total of 316, while the yardage mark has been held by Trevor Insley of Nevada, who accumulated 5,085 yards from 1996-1999.

So what will it take for Broyles to top these marks and get his name in the record book?

Well, I pulled out my trusty Spongebob calculator/secret decoder device and punched out some numbers.

In 2011, Ryan needs to snag at least 51 receptions for over 1,656 yards to break these records.

Since the Big 12 now only fields 10 teams, the conference no longer has a conference championship game. This means the most games they can possibly play this season will be 13.

That would mean this super-Sooner needs to average at least four catches and 127 yards a game over the course of the season.

The four catches a game shouldn't be a problem but the 127 yards could be.

With the growing depth of the Oklahoma receiving corps, Broyles may be hard pressed to reach that mark, especially since every team he plays against will be well aware of how dangerous this man is with the ball thrown in his vicinity. Quarterback Landry Jones will have multiple options this year and if Broyles is frequently double-teamed the other Sooner receivers, such as Kenny Stills, Trey Franks and Dejuan Miller, could take away his opportunities.

That being said, I wouldn't bet against him. Broyles has made quite a career out of proving people wrong.

Just so you know, the career TD reception mark is 60, set by Jarret Dillard of Rice in 2008. Broyles would need 25 TD catches to tie this mark. It would take an average of two touchdown receptions a game in 2011 to break the mark. Certainly not impossible but very highly unlikely.

After all, not even super heroes can do everything.