Texas running back commitment Jonathon Brooks didn’t set any hardline expectations for himself coming into the season. With so much uncertainty due to COVID, Brooks simply wanted to play to the best of his abilities, help his team win as many games as possible and open the eyes of people he thought might have been sleeping on his talents.
Halfway through his senior season, Brooks is well on his way to accomplishing those goals. He’s helped lead Hallettsville to a 4-2 record and he’s put up big performances as a runner, on defense and even on special teams. Hallettsville’s game last week against Hempstead was cancelled last week after Hempstead forfeited due to COVID concerns, but in the five weeks he’s been on the field, Brooks has done a little bit of everything, and he’s done it all very well.
In five games, Brooks has rushed for 956 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 12.58 yards per carry. He has averaged 41.75 yards as a punter. He’s recorded two interceptions, including a pick-six. He’s a triple threat in high school but his work as a running back is obviously his bread and butter. Brooks feels he’s made strides in that area from where he was last year.
“Really I’m running my feet, getting yards after contact and finding the holes this year,” Brooks said. “I just got coached a lot this summer by college coaches and high school coaches, watched film and saw what I need to improve.
“Now I just want to get a lot more yards, get a lot more wins.”
Texas was Brooks’ first scholarship offer about one year ago. He wound up giving the Longhorns a commitment in May and said he still has a great relationship with the UT staff.
“I talk to them probably every week,” Brooks said. “I talk to (Stan Drayton), Brandon Harris, coach Herman. I talk to a lot of them. They just say to trust the process, they’re going to get things right. They’re just shooting themselves in the foot every week.”
With Texas struggling on the field of late – and struggling with the ground game in particular – there could be two ways for Brooks to look at things. On one hand, the struggles could be concerning. On the other, Brooks could view it as an opportunity to come help get things turned around. Fortunately for Texas, Brooks takes the latter viewpoint.
“I just told coach Harris, I texted him and told him just watching the game, I know it’s hard when the running game isn’t really working,” Brooks said. “Just seeing that makes me eager to be there already.”
Brooks was in Austin two weeks ago to watch the Longhorns take on TCU. He’s hoping to return in two weeks when Texas hosts Baylor. Though he can’t meet with the coaches on those visits, he said they’re still beneficial trips.
“The stadium looks great. I like the new atmosphere,” Brooks said. “Hopefully by the time I get there, it will be full capacity and back to normal.”
On the recruiting front, Brooks said he’s still solid with Texas, but does admit he hears rumors and speculation on social media about the uncertain status of the UT coaches if things don’t get turned around.
“I am hearing that stuff, but I don’t know. I don’t believe anything I see or hear unless I hear it from the source myself,” Brooks said. “I’ve told everybody, I’m 100 percent until coach Drayton or coach Herman leave. I’m not saying I would decommit if they leave, I would just have to see what happened.”
Interestingly, one of the schools that has kept in contact of late is Texas’ opponent from last weekend – Oklahoma.
“OU is sending me stuff. They send mail and I saw one of my high school coaches in the hallway and he said DeMarco Murray had texted him and said he wants to come see me.”
