Standing at 5’10 and 180 pounds, Corey Broomfield does not look like the average SEC football player. But with nine interceptions in his first two seasons, three of which he returned for touchdowns, Broomfield has the stats of an above average secondary standout.
In his redshirt freshman season, Broomfield earned Freshman All-American and Freshman All-SEC honors by intercepting six passes, which tied a school record. He also returned two of those picks for touchdowns, tying another school record. To add to this impressive first year, two of his six picks came off Arkansas standout quarterback Ryan Mallett.
Broomfield needs eight more interceptions to break the school record but only needs two more pick sixes to break the national record. The cornerback is confident of his ability to shatter the record and is scaring away offenses with this ability.
“I was upset last week because they only threw it my way two times, so hopefully they throw it a little bit more to the field this week,” Broomfield said. “If they want to throw it, that’s good; we’re excited if they want to drop back and throw it 60 or 70 times.”
Playing under a new defensive coordinator this year has not slowed down Mississippi State’s secondary so far. Chris Wilson did not change much in the Bulldogs’ defense, but Broomfield feels more prepared after having a few years to learn the style.
“The defense is different considering we have different players, but the overall scheme is pretty much the same,” Broomfield said. “I feel like my role has changed a little bit being a year older; I’m a junior now, so I try to lead more.”
One of the keys to Broomfield’s success is the positive mindset he takes into every game. Broomfield said he thinks his team can and should win every game, no matter the opponent.
“In our minds we should win every game against everybody we go up against, and the whole off season that was our mindset,” Broomfield said. “We were ready to go anywhere and do anything and come out with a win; we’re going to play as hard as we can, and we are going to be physical, but that’s the goal every week.”
Although Broomfield’s height is not of importance to him, he does keep his former recruiters in the back of his mind. The Palm Bay, Fla. native was overlooked by the larger universities in Florida, a fact that causes Broomfield to play with a chip on his shoulder every game. MSU head coach Dan Mullen said he is thankful the Bulldogs landed the outstanding cornerback and said he wants Broomfield to continue to improve to become an elite player.
“Corey knows our defense and is a good technician,” Mullen said. “He knows what the receivers are going to do before they do it; he has such an understanding of the other side of the ball, and that’s why he will make even more plays this year.”
Broomfield has an opportunity to make some of these big plays in this weekend’s game against defending National Champion Auburn Tigers. He clearly remembers last year’s loss to the Tigers, in which he dropped an interception that would have been six for the Dawgs; however, Broomfield is not intimidated by the champs.
“If you win that championship, you can carry it on to the next year; you can carry it on as long as you want, but we all know that it’s a new year, and they haven’t crowned anybody,” Broomfield said. “But as long as they call them that it’s fine, so if somebody beats them it’s a little more merry to your win.”
Some scoring from the defense would be very helpful for the Dawgs this weekend, and they have just the guy to get the job done.
Size can be a disadvantage to some players, but Broomfield uses his small frame to elude the vision of quarterbacks, and so far this technique has paid off resulting in numerous interceptions and honors for the cornerback.
