Earlier this spring in a Zoom one-on-one interview, Quinn Grovey raised his eyebrows as the word came there is a notable Frank Broyles tie with new Arkansas defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc.
“That’s royalty in this state,” Grovey said as LeBlanc revealed that his first four years as a college assistant coach were under Jesse Branch at Henderson State.
Branch was an All-Southwest Conference halfback for Broyles in 1962. He later coached wide receivers for Broyles, and then was retained by Lou Holtz and Ken Hatfield before becoming a head coach at Missouri State. Branch is in the UA Hall of Honor and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.