Brains, wit and football

There is so much more to Connor Broyles than just football.

Broyles, a senior, is the starting center for the Siloam Springs football team, which plays a key 6A-West Conference football game Friday at Panther Stadium against El Dorado. The winner will take a big step forward to advancing to the Class 6A playoffs.

But many students simply know Broyles as the star of "The Monday Show," a weekly broadcast that is produced by Siloam Springs High School Film and Television students.

Or they might know him as the president of the Mu Alpha Theta club, or as the brilliant-minded kid who made a 34 on the ACT.

Some youngsters know him as a volunteer football coach for a third-grade team at the Boys and Girls Club of Western Benton County. He also helps out at Sager Creek Community Church.

"Many people know him either for his brains, for his wit or for football, but few see how well-rounded he is unless they really know him," said Megan Denison, who is the Film and Television teacher at Siloam Springs High School.

Broyles said getting more involved in different activities has forced him to learn how to manage his time.

"You can't do everything at once, and you can't put off everything until the last minute," Broyles said. "Freshman and sophomore year, I was the world's worst procrastinator. I waited until the last minute on everything. So now, I've kind of learned to spread everything out and budget time accordingly."

Anchoring the line

When it comes to Broyles' time, football definitely takes up a large chunk of it.

He's started on the offensive line for two seasons now, and he also played some as a sophomore for the Panthers.

Broyles is the Panthers' most versatile player up front with the ability to play all five offensive line positions, which isn't an easy thing to do his coaches say.

"Connor's impressive," said Siloam Springs head football coach Bryan Ross. "He's a great student, great football player. He's a guy that can play all five O-line positions up front. He's that smart. He's had a good senior year for us so far. We're pleased with what he's done and hopefully we can take it a step further the next few weeks."

Ross said Broyles could also have been a good defensive player for the Panthers, but they chose to utilize him on offense instead.

"With his intelligence and ability, I think it really lent himself to playing on the offensive side," Ross said. "He's not disappointed us. He's been a good player for us."

Siloam Springs offensive line coach Jonathan Johnson said coaches look for a guy with mental prowess to be able to handle important duties on the offensive line.

"Really that's what we look for year-in and year-out from our center," Johnson said. "Whether or not he has the physical ability to play those spots within the dynamic of the other players around him, we look for that kid who has the capacity to know every job up front. I think that's what anybody looks for in their center."

Broyles takes his job on the offensive line seriously and doesn't look for any headlines.

"It's like Coach Johnson tells us every practice," Broyles said. "Your job, you're not going to get into the newspaper about it. No one's going to notice you and what you're doing, regardless of how you're performing any given night, until you mess up. You're not the guy with the ball that's doing all the flashy moves and scoring touchdowns. You're more of a servant leader. You clear the way for the guys with the ball to get their glory.

"You're never going to be in the newspaper and get that attention. But you have the self-satisfaction in knowing you've helped your team succeed. It's a very team-oriented position."

'The Monday Show'

In previous years at Siloam Springs High School, "The Monday Show" was essentially a broadcast of announcements.

"Just five solid minutes of announcements," Broyles said.

He said a student in the broadcast program back in the spring had the idea of revamping the show.

"If we have to make the show anyway, why not make it fun?" Broyles said. "Why not make it a fun thing for the kids to start their week with? So we ran with the idea and it's kind of morphed into almost an SNL-style ('Saturday Night Live') show."

Turns out the comedy and improv are right up Broyles' alley.

He spends multiple hours a week writing copy, filming and producing the show with his classmates as part of the Film and Television class.

"It's been great," he said. "It's been so much fun getting to work with others."

Typically the show features a goofy, comedy sketch, with has included students, teachers and administrators on a wide variety of subjects.

Most of the broadcasts feature Broyles as the lead role.

"It's been a lot of fun to get to do it, and it gives me a lot of experience because I see this as the field I might be interested in," Broyles said. "It's been an experience I've enjoyed, not just on the fun side but on the technical side, too."

Denison said Broyles is certainly talented and bright -- almost too bright.

"Connor's one of the best writers I've ever met," she said. "Even though we differ on our political opinions, his humor is timely and it's incisive. And I've actually had to tell him to dumb it down a little bit, because a lot of the freshmen weren't understanding the references he was making or the jokes he was making. We've had to change quite a bit of his writing because it was at such a high level. They weren't getting it."

Denison enjoys the problem of having to reign in a student rather than having to push them along.

"I can only push a kid so far," she said. "When you have a kid that you have to pull them back, that's an amazing feeling because you know that kid is already at a level far beyond what you're doing in the classroom. I have no worries about Connor going off to college and being successful. That to me is fantastic."

Episodes of the "The Monday Show" are available online at www.themondayshow.com.

Ingrown toenails

Broyles doesn't have any trouble getting into character. Like actor Will Ferrell turning into Anchorman Ron Burgundy, Broyles can do it in almost a blink of an eye.

The humor and wit seem to come naturally for Broyles.

While discussing football injuries, Broyles solemnly admits, "Personally, I don't have any heroic stories about having to battle back from an ACL tear or a severe concussion."

"But what a lot of people don't know about me," he said, "is I'm a three-time survivor of a much more silent killer -- the ingrown toenail.

"I can't stay in remission very long ... they keep coming back."

When asked who is the most interesting man at Siloam Springs High School, besides himself, Broyles said "Coach (Marc) Jones. No hesitation there at all. It is Coach Jones."

"He is a perfect mixture of Forrest Gump and Chuck Norris," Broyles said. "He's done everything and can literally do everything. It's so impressive to just sit down and actually listen to him tell stories. He's either coached there or helped out here. It's incredible.

"I remember him telling me a story in college how he got tired of getting ingrown toenails, like me. That's the one thing I have in common with the legendary Coach Jones. He got tired of having them, so he took a pair of pliers and just ripped them out. Both of them."

Broyles said he's already got a script written for Jones, the Panthers' defensive coordinator, to appear on "The Monday Show."

Broyles also took some playful jabs at his other coaches at a recent filming session.

When asked what one of those funnier moments he's had associated with the Panthers football program, Broyles didn't have to go back too far, pointing back to the halftime speech in the Greenwood game on Oct. 7.

"Obviously (Coach Ross) wasn't happy with the halftime performance, so when he came in, he tried to take out his anger on the door to the weight room and intended to slam it for dramatic effect. But what he didn't realize was the door had an airlock and moved about this far and then kind of gently closed shut," Broyles said. "Boy he put everything he had into it. ... It took everything I had not to laugh because it was not the time to laugh right then."

A bright future

When Broyles was in middle school, according to Johnson, his classmates used to say "Connor's going to be president one day."

"He's intelligent, social," Johnson said. "He's perfectly fine in the spotlight. As we can see from his work, he has a character about him that kind of drives him in that direction."

Broyles doesn't know about being president, but he does enjoy writing and discussing politics for 'The Monday Show.' In fact the most recent episode featured a presidential debate between himself and SSHS history teacher Cecil Nichols.

Broyles made a 30 on the ACT in his first time taking it as a high school student, and since then he's improved it four points to a 34.

He's very interested in attending renowned academic institutions like Vanderbilt or Northwestern. His ultimate goal is to be on TV.

"My goal is to eventually be in front of the camera, but obviously you can't start out there," Broyles said. "You've got to work your way to the top."

His coaches and teachers think he will be just fine in whatever he does. As he's shown on the field and in front of the camera, he can handle tough pressure.

"There's not as much humor in the free-block zone as there is in front of the camera on 'The Monday Show,' but at the same time, that's a spotlight that's on him to direct everything, make sure everything's going in the right direction with those big guys up front," Johnson said. "Being in front of the camera once it's on, you've got to be in character."

Broyles hopes his character shines Friday night when the Panthers welcome the Wildcats.

"From a captain's standpoint, I can tell you the team really wants to win," Broyles said, "and these next three weeks is going to be where we have to do it. They should all be pretty even games. We're hungry for a win, and we're going out there and working hard every single day to make sure that happens."