Getting A Second Chance Broussard Leaves Cincy For Seattle, Where Ex-WSU Star Intends To Find Role

Steve Broussard couldn’t stand the sight of a football.

Hated the game’s guts.

Practice was a form of torture. His head coach engaged in psychological warfare, belittling him for the sport of it.

And as five years passed, Broussard rode a downward spiral from first-round draft choice out of Washington State to minimum-wage waiver pick-up by the Seattle Seahawks.

But after Saturday morning’s practice, the first full-speed workout of the season for the Seahawks, Broussard had the look of a man who’d been paroled.

“I feel like I’m in a situation where I’m wanted,” Broussard said. “And that really feels good.”

After his experiences in the NFL, it should.

He knows he will serve as a backup to standout tailback Chris Warren, but for now, that’s fine.

At practice Saturday, he blew through the line several times with such startling quickness that it seemed to turn the clock back, and to erase a few frustrating years.

The Los Angeles city prep sprint champ, Broussard came to Pullman and flourished in Dennis Erickson’s wide-open offense. At 5-foot-7 and 205 pounds, he was difficult to catch and harder to bring down - all the while serving as a fearsome receiving threat.

No Cougar ever scored more touchdowns (41) than Broussard, who was also one of only two players - Bobby Moore being the other - to lead the Pacific-10 Conference in receiving (1987) and rushing (1988).

On NFL draft day 1990, Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville called Broussard a “stand-up player,” meaning that every time he got the ball, people at the stadium would stand up to get a better look at what he might do.

Under Glanville, though, Broussard, too often, became a “sit-down” player.

Glanville said that Broussard avoided contact by running out of bounds. The coach once told his players to hit Broussard on the head any time he came near the sideline.

“Every day was like live scrimmaging, like playing in a game,” Broussard said. “I lost a lot of love for the game because it was such a stress factor. Every time I went to practice, I hated it and I lost that fire to play. It was all a big mental game, and I found that you can’t play when you’re mad all the time.”

In four seasons at Atlanta, Broussard started only 16 games and never rushed for more than 454 yards in a season.

Cincinnati picked him up last year, and the Bengals utilized his receiving ability as he had a career-high 34 catches. But an injury to his spine in November and a concussion in December caused him to finish the year on the injured-reserve list.

Waived by the Bengals, Broussard drew the interest of only one NFL team - the Seahawks, who reunited him with Erickson.

Erickson said he expected Broussard to be useful in the new Seahawks offense, where he will see some duty in the slot as well as the backfield.

“I know Chris is the main guy in the backfield,” Broussard said. “It would be foolish of me to think that I should be starting. My inner competitiveness makes it tough, but I’m mature enough to understand my role. This is a chance to play and that’s what I wanted.”

Actually, he’s competing for backup time with second-year back Lamar Smith. And because of a touch of arthritis in his left knee - the residual effects of two arthroscopic surgeries - he is not expected to practice full speed during all of two-a-day camp.

Even so, “it’s great to go out to practice and have fun and get things done without worrying about getting your head knocked off every minute,” he said.

Does it all add up to a reprieve for the 28-year-old Broussard?

“I came into the league as a first-rounder, but I was never given the chance to really be the man and I piddled around in Atlanta for years,” he said.

“But I don’t look at my career as a flop, or that I was a first-round bust, because, really, when you look at it, there’s not that many running backs who stay in the league six years.

“So I’m fortunate - (I) consider myself blessed,” he said. “The way I see it, patience is a virtue, and I’m about to be repaid for it.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo