Tahj Brooks

Tahj Brooks
Texas Tech Red Raiders – No. 28
PositionRunning back
ClassSenior
MajorSport Management
Personal information
Born: (2002-05-13) May 13, 2002 (age 22)
Manor, Texas
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolManor (Manor, Texas)
Career highlights and awards

Tahj Brooks (born May 13, 2002) is an American football running back for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Early life

Brooks attended Manor High School in Manor, Texas. During his career, he rushed for over 4,400 yards and had 65 total touchdowns. He committed to Texas Tech University to play college football.[1]

College career

As a true freshman at Texas Tech in 2020, he rushed for 255 yards on 69 carries with four touchdowns over 10 games.[2] As a sophomore in 2021, he started four of nine games and led the team with 568 yards on 87 carries with seven touchdowns.[3] He again finished as the team's leading rusher in 2022, finishing with 691 yards on 147 carries and seven touchdowns over 13 games and six starts.[4]

Brooks returned as the starter his senior year in 2023.[5][6] In the first half of the 2023 season, Brooks finished with 100-yards rushing in four consecutive games, becoming the first Texas Tech running back to do so in the 21st century.[7][8] Brooks had his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season against TCU, becoming the first Texas Tech running back to eclipse 1,000 yards in a single season since DeAndré Washington in 2015.[9] Brooks was named a semifinalist for the 2023 Doak Walker Award.[10]

On December 11, 2023, Brooks announced that he would be returning for the 2024 season.[11] Against Iowa State, Brooks became the Red Raiders' all-time leader in rush attempts; the following game, against Colorado, Brooks surpassed Byron Hanspard as the program leader in rushing yards.[12]

Statistics

Season GP Rushing Receiving
Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
Texas Tech Red Raiders
2020 10 69 255 3.7 4 13 61 4.7 0
2021 9 87 568 6.5 7 6 52 8.7 0
2022 13 147 691 4.7 7 27 164 6.1 1
2023 13 290 1,541 5.3 10 29 72 3.4 0
2024 11 286 1,505 5.3 17 28 199 7.1 1
Career 56 879 4,560 5.2 45 81.4 548 5.4 2

References

  1. ^ "BREAKING: Three-star RB Tahj Brooks commits to Texas Tech". Yahoo.com.
  2. ^ "More than meets the eye: Bullish Tahj Brooks adds burst to his arsenal". Lubbock Avalanche Journal.
  3. ^ "Texas Tech key spring issues: How do Tahj Brooks, SaRodorick Thompson share carries in 2022?". The Dallas Morning News.
  4. ^ "Talented Texas Tech tailback sure to test Mountaineers". West Virginia MetroNews.
  5. ^ "Brown: TTU's Brooks is 'the best player nobody talks about'". The Dominion Post.
  6. ^ "This is Tahj Brooks' Texas Tech football team until further notice". Lubbock Avalanche Journal.
  7. ^ "Texas Tech beats Baylor 39-14 with 4 TDs by Morton and Brooks' fourth 100-yard rushing game in row". Associated Press. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. ^ Williams, Don (7 October 2023). "Was another Tahj Brooks 100-yard game worth an A?". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Morton throws 2 TDs, Taylor-Demerson has 2 INTs as Texas Tech beats TCU 35-28". Associated Press. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  10. ^ Williams, Don (21 November 2023). "Texas Tech football's Tahj Brooks makes cut to 10 for Doak Walker Award". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  11. ^ Williams, Don (11 December 2023). "Inside Tahj Brooks' decision to stay with Texas Tech football in 2024". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  12. ^ Giese, Nathan (9 November 2024). "Tahj Brooks breaks Texas Tech football all-time rushing record". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2024.