Willie Lee Broughton (born September 9, 1964) is a former American football

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the National Football League for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Raiders, and New Orleans Saints. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Miami.

Early years

Broughton attended Fort Pierce Central High School. He was a two-way tackle. He received All-state honors as a senior. He also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, where he was the conference's discus throw champion He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Miami. As a junior, he was a member of the National championship squad. As a senior, he played every position along the defensive line, posting 62 tackles (6 for loss) and 5 sacks.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Broughton was selected by the

in the fourth round (88th overall) of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

. He was also selected by the Orlando Renegades in the

1985 USFL Territorial Draft The 1985 USFL Territorial Draft was the third Territorial Draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 3, 1985, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Under the previous 2 territorial drafts, each team had 5 designat ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in 15 games with one start at left defensive end, making 17 tackles one sack and 2 quarterback pressures. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, he started the first 8 games at nose tackle, after the team released veteran Brad White. He was limited by a neck injury the rest of the season. He posted 34 tackles, one sack, one quarterback pressure and one fumble recovery. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, he injured a knee in training camp and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 4. On July 5,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, he was signed as a free agent. He was waived on August 23.

Dallas Cowboys

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, his college coach Jimmy Johnson gave him a tryout and ended up signing him on July 18. He started 14 out of 16 games, while registering 92 tackles (fifth on the team), 3 sacks and 2 passes defensed. In

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, he only played in 4 games as backup

. He suffered a lower back strain before the fifth game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was placed on the injured reserve list. He was cut on August 20,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. He was not re-signed after the season.

Los Angeles Raiders (first stint)

Broughton spent a year out of football rehabilitating his back, before being signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Raiders in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. He appeared in 16 games with 8 starts at left defensive tackle. He had 42 tackles and one sack. On August 30,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he was released and re-signed the next day. He appeared in 15 games as a backup, making 4 tackles and one sack. Broughton did not play in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, after being declared inactive in 9 games. He also was limited with a right elbow injury that he suffered in a preseason drill. He was released on November 14.

Miami Dolphins

On November 23, he signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins, after

Craig Veasey Craig Veasey (born December 25, 1966 in Houston, Texas) is a retired defensive tackle/nose tackle in the NFL. While attending the University of Houston from 1985 to 1989, Craig earned was a 4-year letterman, and a starting 3 of those years. I ...

was lost to injury. He was declared inactive in 5 games. He was not re-signed after the season.

Los Angeles Raiders (second stint)

On June 2,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Raiders. On August 28, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a draft choice (#220-

Sedric Clark Sedric Clark (born January 28, 1973) is a former professional American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL), NFL Europe and the XFL. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL Draft. In his five-year pro c ...

New Orleans Saints

, he appeared in 16 games with 10 starts at left defensive end and nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. He had 31 tackles, 2 sacks and one pass defensed. In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, he appeared in 14 games with 5 starts at right defensive tackle, he tallied 22 tackles (16 solo) and 2 sacks. He was placed on the injured reserve list on December 19. He was cut on July 18,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Personal life

His Brother Dock Luckie played nose tackle for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, Willie 1964 births Living people People from Fort Pierce, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football defensive tackles Miami Hurricanes football players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Los Angeles Raiders players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players