Veteran Will Brooks emerging as unlikely leader in new-look defensive backfield
Tennessee is starting over in the backend. With the departures of more than a handful to the transfer portal, graduation and NFL Draft – the Vols are tasked with replacing all five starters in the secondary and plenty of depth pieces.
Only a couple of players are back who saw any action in the defensive backfield a season ago and one of those guys (Jourdan Thomas) has already been lost for the year. Veteran Will Brooks is one who got a taste of the action a year ago and is poised to get much more in the season ahead.
“It’s super exciting. It’s everything I’ve worked to do,” the fifth-year senior said of competing for a starting job in fall camp. “I don’t really look at it as like going out every day and if I do good, I might be starting. If I do bad, I might not. I just try and attack every rep and do the best that I can do. Let the rest take care of itself.”
Brooks walked-on in 2020 following an All-State prep career at Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, Ala. He did not see any action as a freshman but jumped into the fire on special teams in 2021 with 13 appearances. The reserve safety found the field via special teams again in all 13 games in 2022 and continued the role last season while finally cracking the rotation in the secondary.
Albeit, it was due to a slew of injuries the final few weeks of the regular season, but Brooks played a career-high 70 snaps against No. 1 Georgia and made his first-career start against Vanderbilt a week later. He led the squad with eight tackles against the Commodores (1 TFL) and made six stops against the Bulldogs.
“I’ve always felt that I could help. I’ve always just kind of played my role – just whatever the coaches have asked of us,” the veteran reflected. “As long as the coaches are trusting me to do what I can do, I’ll trust them to put me in the right positions and to play where I’m needed to play.”
Fast-forward to now and Brooks has a chance not just to be in the rotation at safety, but to start opposite of Andre Turrentine. He’s a hard hat and lunch pail guy – always going to work to improve every single day. Because of the hard work, he’s gained the trust of the coaching staff.
“His preparation. He’s an everyday, consistent player who is very detailed. Whether that is in meetings, off the field or whether we are taking a day off, he’s somebody that we are leaning on for leadership because he’s been here for a long time and has done it the right way,” defensive backs coach Willie Martinez said on Monday. “His teammates respect him tremendously. He’s been very consistent; that’s the best thing I can say about Will. There’s no up-and-down. The players are being led the right way.”
Brooks can play the STAR position – as we saw last season – and could be asked to give it a look again at some point this season. He’s repped at cornerback at times throughout his career, but for now, he’s competing every day with sophomore John Slaughter and transfer Jakobe Thomas for the right to start at safety.
At the very least, he’s going to play a lot of football for Tennessee this season and he’s also gained the respect of his teammates along the way – new and old.
“Yeah, if I don’t know something, I go to Will,” transfer cornerback Jermod McCoy told the media. “He knows everything. If anybody doesn’t know something, they go ask Will.”
A big part of the journey for Brooks has been his involvement on special teams. It was his seat on the [travel] bus early in his career. His involvement on all four of the special teams units has given him a plethora of reps over three years that have enabled some growth and development. And the work in the third phase of the game easily helps on defense.
“Special teams, we always talk about transferable skills,” Brooks continued. “A lot of times, running down on kickoff, you’re defeating a block. Same thing of defense, defeat a block and make a tackle, so I definitely think playing on specials teams and getting the reps in at special teams definitely helps prepare you to play defense.”
He’s worked hard for four years. Brooks doesn’t miss practices. He’s found himself in the mix on defense and now he’s in a position to play a critical role for Tim Banks’ squad. And he’s also taken it upon himself to be a leader in the process.
“Being as more of a vocal leader in our room,” Brooks said of his offseason goals. “Just coaching guys up in meetings and on the field. Using my experience to help bring those guys along. Because we need everybody in our room.”
That’s the mindset every coach wants. Competitiveness is a must, but a selfless attitude is what great locker rooms are built on. Brooks is a guy the coaching staff trusts and he’s going to play a ton of snaps this fall. Time will tell what his specific role is going to look like come Saturday afternoons.
The post Veteran Will Brooks emerging as unlikely leader in new-look defensive backfield appeared first on On3.
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