Freshman special teamer Alex Broshears recaps the trip to Youngstown State
- Tom Weber
- 3 minutes ago
- 5 min read
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois true freshman linebacker Alex Broshears is a walk-on from Evansville, who has earned a starting spot on all four of SIU’s special teams. He currently leads the team with six special teams tackles this season. Broshears takes you behind the scenes on the trip to Youngstown State.
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Alex Broshears Blog
Friday, Nov. 7
I usually set about four alarms so I don’t oversleep, and woke up at 7.30 this morning. We had an 8:15 team meeting, and Coach Hill talked about how we have 15 days left guaranteed, and what we do in those 15 days affects the future. If we make the playoffs or if we don't, we can control our destiny.
Next, we went into a special teams meeting to go over corrections from Thursday's practice, and then to our position meetings, making any last-minute corrections before we headed out to the field for a short “Fast Friday” practice. Afterward, I took a quick shower and went to team breakfast, where we had chicken-fried steak and eggs. From there, I had to go pick up Stephen Green from his house because he didn't have a parking pass for the lot we need to park in for overnight road trips.
On the bus on the way to the airport, I scrolled TikTok and played a few games with my phone. We flew out of the airport in Marion. I haven't been on many flights, but taking a charter is really quick and efficient. All you have to do is show your ID, get your food and get on the plane. I watched a movie, the Goonies, on the plane.
It was pretty rainy when we got to Youngstown. Fellow linebacker Miles Wash was like, “yeah, when we go to Youngstown, it's always gloomy and cloudy." Buses took us to the hotel and then the freshmen had a mandatory study hall. I worked on an online class to make sure I had that done for next week. I also took our position test, which gives you formations on a test sheet and then it gives you a call to those formations, just to make sure you know your assignment. Every position group has one. After study hall, we did team stretch, which is a nice way to just calm your nerves. This is a pretty stressful time in the season playing important November games.
After stretch, we had a special teams meeting. I'm actually on all four of them. I take pride that I'm on all four special teams in my freshman year. Throughout high school, I was on all my special teams. I feel like it’s another phase that you can help your team win. The key for me is listening to the coaches, Coach (Nathan) Frame’s coaching tips. They’ve been doing it for a long time and know a lot more than you do. Like on kickoff, reading how your man is trying to leverage you and getting to the other side. I made three tackles doing that.
I haven't actually played any defensive snaps this year, which I don't really mind, because when you look at the room that I'm in, you have (Colin) Bohanek, you have Beamer (Andrew Behm), Shug (Walker), (Chris) Presto — all have played a lot of college football. Now you have (Ben) Fiegel who's played a few games as well. I try to learn from all these guys, the skills that they’re showing you in practice, how they watch film, how they take notes. I've learned a lot about footwork and using my hands. In high school, I was pretty sloppy with my footwork and using my hands to get off blocks. I just trusted my speed. Reading keys is a big thing in college, too.
For dinner, I had steak and lasagna with a salad. Coach Hill gave us a pregame talk, and then we had our defensive meeting, where Coach (Lee) Pron(schinske) puts clips up on the board and we go through our calls and communication like it would sound on the field.
After the defensive meeting, we have optional team chapel, which I usually go to. I'm a Catholic, went to a Catholic high school, so my faith is important to me. I would go to mass every Sunday back home with my family. I go to the Newman Center here, which is nice that there's a Catholic church here in Carbondale that I'm able to get to. Our team chapel has grown a lot. It’s led by Jacqueline Crain. We have these shirts now, “Jesus Is King” that is something we take pride in.
Saturday, Nov. 8
I woke up at 8 this morning and went down to continental breakfast, which is basically yogurt, cereal, fresh fruit. Then we did team rollout, team stretch, offense and defense walk-through. The scout team will walk through certain routes and concepts so everybody's on the same page. Then we had pregame meal, which was more like a full breakfast. After the hype video, the linebackers got together to go over last-minute tips and reminders for the game. Then we loaded the buses for a short drive to the field. The hotel was in downtown Youngstown, so pretty close to the stadium.
During pregame, I usually get my ankles and wrists taped right before I go out. I walk around the field a little bit, just to get a feel, get the nerves out before you actually go out there. Then I came back in, got dressed, and it was time for the actual warm up. We came back to the locker room for a little pregame talk, and then off for the game.
Obviously, the game didn't go as we wanted today. There were definitely some good things we’ll take from it, and get the other stuff fixed up for sure. I made one tackle, but I also missed one tackle. I just have to stay in my lane, keep my leverage on that one play. I think special teams was decent. We got a turnover and we didn't get any kicks blocked.
Overall, obviously disappointing that we lost. We gotta win these next two to have hope for the playoffs. We just have to keep our heads down, keep working throughout the week and make sure we’re prepared for the game on Saturday.