Catching Up with Jim Broadway

For Jim Broadway, who had a career punting average of 39.9, ranking a respectable 13th of the 28 Bulldogs in history who have punted at least 50 times, it was not about kicking for length, but rather it was all about the “net.”

Unfortunately, UGA did not begin releasing official net punting statistics until 1982. However, a rough calculation figures Broadway’s career net average to be just under 39.0, which would rank in the top five in school history.

Still, even more so for Georgia’s punter from 1980-1982, he was a part of three teams—all of which won an SEC title—which achieved a 33-3 combined record, and won a national championship in 1980. Throw in the fact that Broadway never had a punt blocked, nor bobbled a snap as the holder for two of the Bulldogs’ greatest placekickers (Rex Robinson and Kevin Butler), and he undoubtedly was an unsung standout during the greatest three-season span in the history of Georgia football.

We recently caught up with Broadway from his office in Roswell, Georgia:

UGASports: How did you, hailing from small-town Eustis, Florida, become a Bulldog in 1978, especially considering Georgia didn’t give its first scholarship to a punter until 1984 (Cris Carpenter)?

Broadway: “I originally was going to Auburn to play baseball. Well, back then, before [the NCAA] cracked down on it, there were active recruiters in the community. In Eustis, a big Georgia supporter was ‘Hard Rock’ Miller, nicknamed so because he worked in the headstone business. Anyway, he helped recruit to Georgia several guys from our community. In high school, I was a quarterback, safety, and punter, and Hard Rock contacted me late winter/early spring of ‘78, asking if I’d be interested in punting at Georgia. [Assistant coach] Chip Wisdom eventually came down to visit me. I didn’t visit UGA until June when I kicked balls with Bucky Dilts (Georgia’s punter, 1974-1976). One thing led to another, and a month and a half later I was in Athens.”

UGASports: What was it like once you stepped on the practice field at Georgia?

Broadway: “With Coach Hartman (Georgia’s legendary Bill Hartman, among many things, was the Bulldogs’ volunteer kicking coach for roughly 20 seasons during the 1970s-1990s), I guarantee there were about 14 of us out there: about four-five each of kickers, punters, and snappers—and, a lot of good guys. Seeing Mike Garrett (primary punter 1977-1979) and [Mark] Malkiewicz (began 1980 as starting punter), I didn’t think I’d ever play. But, I just stuck with it. I was redshirted in ’78, played junior varsity in ’79, and was the backup to Mark entering 1980.”

UGASports: After Malkiewicz got hurt the week of the 1980 season opener at Tennessee, you filled in as a walk-on and had to punt in front of 95,000+ spectators—at the time, the largest crowd to ever see a game in the South. Leading up to your last punt, you had only punted for a 35-yard average. Just a couple of minutes remained in the game, Georgia leads only 16-15, and you are forced to punt with your ankles near the backline of your own end zone. Were you nervous?

Broadway: “I didn’t pay much attention to the crowd. You really don’t notice the crowd much when you’re a player. I think I got nervous about it more so when riding back home on the plane. Although I had yet to punt in a varsity game, the good news for me was I had been in the program—been in a lot of different punting situations—for two years. The other good news was I had already punted eight times before that one. But, yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. We were lined up at the six-yard line on the left hash. I also really remember that Coach Majors (Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors) never called a timeout, and didn’t rush me. And for me, personally, I would’ve first called a timeout, and then rushed the punter." (Subsequently, Broadway lifted a 47-yard punt to midfield, whereby Tennessee couldn’t move the ball in its final drive, and Georgia prevailed.)

UGASports: Why do you think Coach Majors should’ve rushed you?

Broadway: “My son, who was a punter at Ole Miss, and I talk about this all the time. But, we agree that we would rush the punter every time. It just puts another thought in the punter’s mind, you know?”

UGASports: After you punted well for the first several games of the 1980 season, Malkiewicz became healthy and regained the primary punting position. Were you a little ticked you had to relinquish your starting role?

Broadway: “No, I didn’t have any hard feelings at all. As a fifth-year senior at the time, and 1980 was really the only year he played, Mark had waited five years for his chance. I knew I was going to have two more years to play. By a freak play in practice, he had gotten injured and lost the job to me. It would have been terrible if he hadn’t gotten an opportunity. Coach Dooley (then-head coach Vince Dooley) was always a big believer in competition, but he was also loyal.”

UGASports: Describe how you prided yourself on being a good “net” punter.

Broadway: “Today teams put a much greater emphasis on punting a ball as far as they can kick it, whereas we concentrated more on kicking the ball high. I wasn’t one of those guys to have a long punt. I don’t know if I ever had a 60-yarder (one, of exactly 60 yards, vs. Kentucky in 1981). I was more of trying to kick it 40-45 yards, while hanging it high for 4.5 seconds. Coach Dooley wasn’t interested in us blasting it as far as we could down the field but, rather, having the punt come down to where the coverage unit could literally talk to the return man as he tried to field the punt. Coach Dooley didn’t want to give the opposing punt-return man, often one of a team’s more skilled players, a running start. That philosophy has for the most part changed today.”

UGASports: Can you add any more to Coach Dooley’s punting philosophy?

Broadway: “Well, punters and placekickers liked playing for Coach Dooley because he realized how important the aspect of kicking was in the game. But, from there, he turned it over for Coach Hartman to handle all the rest. Hartman and Dooley were very close. Hartman had a lot of experience, and he was like a confidant to Coach Dooley. Nowadays, teams go out and sign a placekicker or punter when they need one. But, back in my day, Georgia developed them. You take a bigger risk on a punter, perhaps more so than any other position, when you sign them out of high school. Now, and back then, it’s such a huge step for a punter to go from high school to college. The speed of the game is so much faster, and it’s much more of a mental game than high school. So, when I was at Georgia, most of the kickers were developed in the system for a couple of years before they stepped on the field as a varsity member.”

UGASports: How influential was it having Coach Hartman as your kicking coach?

Broadway: “It was a big deal. When you get to that level, kicking is about 95 percent mental. Coach Hartman not only was good at working us on fundamentals but really helped develop our mental aspect, as well. He was always on our side—our best advocate. He understood if a kicker/punter struggled, you can’t stand over him and simply say, ‘Kick it better!’ It’s like standing over a guy on the tee box and saying, ‘Knock the crap out of the ball!’ It doesn’t work like that. Kickers and punters are better if they can develop a routine and a rhythm, and if they can repeat that rhythm and routine in all kicking situations. Coach Hartman understood that and was able to get that out of his kickers. And, by the way, we miss that nowadays.”

UGASports: What do you mean—“we miss that”?

Broadway: “Kevin [Butler] was over there [at UGA] and did a fine job (helping the kicking game). But, Kevin can only do so much, and kickers are primarily on their own today. They run most of their own drills, and really don’t have the direction that we used to have. For example, they primarily placekick off of a tee, or something that holds the ball for them. With Coach Hartman at practice, each one of our placekickers would probably kick 50-60 balls or more with a snapper. I should know because he used a live holder, as well. That made all the difference in the world. And, if you were to ask a guy like Kevin, he’ll tell you nothing can replace that.”

UGASports: Speaking of you as a holder, you never mishandled a snap when holding on a placekick, and the one punt you had blocked (vs. Tennessee in ’81 returned for a touchdown) was called back because the Vols had 12 men on the field. In that same game, you might have bobbled a snap when punting, but you were able to recover, and actually got off a good punt.

Broadway: “But, I did drop one snap when punting versus Clemson in ’80, and it could’ve cost us a national championship. Nobody remembers that but me (chuckling). Late in the game, we’re up [20-16] and I was standing around our own 40-yard line. The snap hit me right in the hands and then suddenly rolled back through my legs. Clemson recovered and proceeded to drive down the field until Jeff Hipp intercepted the ball near the goal line. There was still some time on the clock, but thank goodness Herschel [Walker] was able to run it (the clock) out. And, thank God, I didn’t have to punt again.”

UGASports: While a Georgia player, what was your greatest individual on-field moment?

Broadway: “I think a lot of players remember the things they screw up more than anything else, like when I mishandled the ball against Clemson in ‘80. So, it’s kind of hard to think of something personal. But, team-wise, there wasn’t anything cooler than right at the end of the Notre Dame game (when Georgia beat the Fighting Irish in the ’81 Sugar Bowl to win the national title). Just being on the field when we won it, and in the locker room—the coolest thing. But, now that I think about it, I do kind of have a personal story from when I played.”

UGASports: Let’s hear it.

Broadway: “It was a Tuesday practice during the 1980 season, I was the No. 2 punter, and the special teams coaches for the punt team—John Kasay and Wayne McDuffie—were working with us. It was windy so, when I punted one, it didn’t go too far down the field but high in the air. Coach Kasay, having no clue where the ball was, came running downfield shouting to the coverage unit, ‘Find the ball! Find the ball! Find the ball!’ Suddenly, the ball comes straight down and hits him right on his head. Everybody dies laughing, even Coach Dooley. When I go over to the other side to kick one back, McDuffie is there and he said, ‘Hey, Broadway, Kasay would have killed you if Dooley hadn’t been out here.’ Well, the next day, we were getting ready for cal (calisthenics) with Coach [Erk] Russell. Right before we started, Coach Kasay comes running onto the field late, appearing almost out of nowhere. He’s got an old 1960s 'G' helmet he wore (Kasay was a standout lineman for Georgia during the mid-60s), and a t-shirt that he obviously had just made up, imprinted to say, ‘Find the ball!’ During a pressure-filled season, it was just a light moment, taking some of the pressure off the team.”

UGASports: I read that you became a stockbroker right after you graduated from UGA.

Broadway: “Yes, it was my first job—and it’s still the job. Of course, these days, the term is ‘Financial Advisor.’ I started with A.G. Edwards in Roswell in 1984, and was there for 25 years until we merged with Wachovia. It was Wachovia for a couple of years until it became Wells Fargo—Wells Fargo Advisors. My son eventually joined me and we left Wells Fargo Advisors in April 2018 to form Broadway Financial Group, LLC, through Raymond James Financial Services. We work in Roswell.”

UGASports: You son, Jim Jr., he was a punter as well, right? And, at Miami (Ohio) followed by Ole Miss, of all places?

Broadway: “Yes, placing kickers isn’t an easy thing. He went the Miami-of-Ohio route, but later decided he wanted to come back to the South. He got to Ole Miss and had two years of eligibility, but he got hurt his first year. He wanted to kick his last year, but I discouraged it. They had a senior returning, a Ray Guy candidate (Tyler Campbell), and I didn’t think a fifth-year senior (Jim) would want to backup at punter. He said, though, and I won’t forget this, ‘We have a new coach, and maybe they want the best player.’ That new coach was Hugh Freeze, who redshirted the other punter (Campbell), whereupon my son punted [in 2012], while [Campbell] was saved for [2013].”

UGASports: How was it watching your son play in Sanford Stadium against the Bulldogs—the team you played for? And, he had a good game (45.6 punting average on eight punts in a 37-10 Ole Miss loss).

Broadway: “It was pretty cool. Jim grew up idolizing Georgia, watching all the games, and here he had a chance to go back and play on their home field. Honestly, and make no mistake about it, I was an Ole Miss fan that day. Blood trumps everything. But, now, all that’s past. Besides maybe the quarterback, it might be harder to watch from the stands your son as a placekicker or punter—and Kevin [Butler] would probably tell you the same—than it is to play yourself, or you coaching your child from the sidelines. And, this is mostly because you have to sit up there in the stands and listen to everybody!”

UGASports: What about the rest of your family?

Broadway: “I also have two daughters, Amanda and Casey, both of whom are nurses at Scottish Rite. Amanda has two children, a boy and girl. Casey has one girl, and Jim Jr. has two kids, a girl and boy. Casey was a cheerleader at Georgia; Amanda was on the dance team. My son is the only one in the family who didn’t go to Georgia. Even his wife is a UGA graduate. I met my wife, Sherry, at a business law class at UGA, and we’ve been married for 37 years. We all live in Roswell, and spend a lot of free time at our second home on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.”

UGASports: What’s your current association with the UGA football program?

Broadway: “I’m not as active as I have been before, or eventually want to be. I coached football at Roswell High School for 10-11 years (kicking coach), then I traveled all over watching Miami of Ohio play, and then Ole Miss play. Now, we’re back to reality and getting back over to Athens more. We’re doing more things with the program, getting plugged back in.”

UGASports: Have you found that the current coaching regime is making an effort to get lettermen “plugged back in”?

Broadway: “The connection is with everyone you played with. However, things change—coaching staffs change, none of the people you knew are there anymore. But, Kirby [Smart] is doing a good job of bringing back [lettermen] to practices, barbecues, and other things. Kirby is really going out of his way to get former players back into the loop.”