Broyles switches to Sooners

By Jenni Carlson

Published: February 8, 2007

NORMAN — Ryan Broyles is going to Oklahoma.

And this time, he means it.

After a week of waffling, the Norman High School standout signed a national letter of intent with the Sooners on Wednesday. It marked the third time he had switched his commitment in the past week, alternating between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but this time around, his choice is binding.

"I'm a hundred percent to Oklahoma now,” Broyles said. "I'm not willing to change that at all.”

Broyles originally committed to the Cowboys on Jan. 14, but later that day, the Sooners offered a scholarship. A couple weeks later, Broyles switched his commitment to the Sooners, only to switch back to the Cowboys a few days later.

And as late as 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Broyles said he was committed to OSU.

"The thing that was going through my head right then was, I was committed to Oklahoma State and I didn't want to change that,” Broyles said Wednesday.

So, what changed?

Broyles had a heart-to-heart talk with his parents, Stephanie and Edward Moore, on Tuesday night. By the time they finished, Broyles had all but decided to switch his commitment again and become a Sooner, not a Cowboy.

Wanting to be absolutely sure, he made phone calls after midnight to his primary recruiter at both schools. He called OSU assistant Gunter Brewer first, then OU assistant Cale Gundy.

Around 2 a.m., Broyles made up his mind — he would be a Sooner.

"I just slept on it,” he said, "and woke up to see if I still felt good about it.”

When he did, he signed his letter of intent around 8:45 a.m. It arrived on the fax machine in the OU football office at 10:32 a.m.

While it appears there were no major changes between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning — Broyles adamantly denied rumors that OSU had pulled its scholarship offer — he weighed some factors differently with his decision's finality bearing down. Chief among them was staying close to home.

"That really wasn't a factor at the beginning,” he said, "but ... that's kind of what I felt like was right for me.”

Broyles recognized that outsiders were probably wondering what he was doing, changing commitments time and again.

"It's a hard decision,” he said. "I just wanted to make the best one for me, so I tested here and tested there. I guess I did come out a little early with the commitment that I thought was right ... but that's just how it played out.”

He said getting attention was never his motivation.

"I'm not that kind of person,” said Broyles, who intends to play receiver for the Sooners. "When I felt the decision was right, when I committed to Oklahoma State ... I let it out. Then when I switched ... I let it out. It was nothing about attention.”

The decision weighed on him so much that he struggled to sleep and almost became physically ill.

"He wanted to say yes to everybody,” Edward Moore said. "Sometimes you say yes when you don't really feel yes.”

Stephanie Moore said, "It's a huge decision for an 18-year-old.”

And after struggling with it for a week, Broyles seemed comfortable with his final answer.

"Glad to get it over with,” he said.