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I think the comparisons to Jamaal Charles are pretty appropriate. He also can bowl over people. Again, I eat crow on doubting him in week 1. 

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  • We have been using the RB talk thread and it's time we started a dedicated thread for Jonathon in the football board.  This was leading into the season.  Let's get some highlights

  • South Austin
    South Austin

  • Shit like that is how you know Sark is one of the good ones. 

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6 minutes ago, mdmost said:

I think the comparisons to Jamaal Charles are pretty appropriate. He also can bowl over people. Again, I eat crow on doubting him in week 1. 

I will gratefully eat my share of that crow with you.  Totally worth it.  Hook 'em!

I think the comparisons to Jamaal Charles are pretty appropriate. He also can bowl over people. Again, I eat crow on doubting him in week 1. 

Priest Holmes
10 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


Priest Holmes

It's funny you mention him. When I read the post by Codaxx about Brooks being untouched and crediting the OL...well, as a former OL myself I approve. But I saw at least a few plays yesterday when Brooks showed patience and let the OL get some movement to allow Brooks to "make himself skinny" and get through a developing hole. It's RBs to figure this out, so they make bad cutback decisions or plow into the mob and get very little. When the light came on for Priest, he performed much better getting through tight spaces and he went from good to great.

7 minutes ago, PsychMike said:

It's funny you mention him. When I read the post by Codaxx about Brooks being untouched and crediting the OL...well, as a former OL myself I approve. But I saw at least a few plays yesterday when Brooks showed patience and let the OL get some movement to allow Brooks to "make himself skinny" and get through a developing hole. It's RBs to figure this out, so they make bad cutback decisions or plow into the mob and get very little. When the light came on for Priest, he performed much better getting through tight spaces and he went from good to great.

To your point, I think Baxter made the wrong cut a few times and ran into defenders. Brooks has shown amazing vision so far this season. 

22 minutes ago, UTEE97 said:

To your point, I think Baxter made the wrong cut a few times and ran into defenders. Brooks has shown amazing vision so far this season. 

Baxter is still in high school mode where you think you can shake your way through the line and in traffic.  Brooks is patient and makes the one cut and go most of the time.

Baxter will figure it out.

It's funny you mention him. When I read the post by Codaxx about Brooks being untouched and crediting the OL...well, as a former OL myself I approve. But I saw at least a few plays yesterday when Brooks showed patience and let the OL get some movement to allow Brooks to "make himself skinny" and get through a developing hole. It's RBs to figure this out, so they make bad cutback decisions or plow into the mob and get very little. When the light came on for Priest, he performed much better getting through tight spaces and he went from good to great.

He was really patient yesterday. He would kinda hop a little and then plant and go.
Baxter is still in high school mode where you think you can shake your way through the line and in traffic.  Brooks is patient and makes the one cut and go most of the time.
Baxter will figure it out.

Baxter was better at the end of the Bama game when it seems like he knew he just needed to run north and south and lower the boom.

Closest comparison to me is Ced Benson. A mix of speed and power, gets better as the game goes on. I remember watching Ced early in his career and not being overly impressed, mainly because he was so soon after Ricky, who was pretty much incomparable. Turns out he was also really damn good. I'm not going to let Bijan recency cloud my judgement of Brooks. 

He doesn't have JC's top end speed, but nobody did. He was world class type fast. He's not as shifty as Bijan, but he is almost Barry Sanders reincarnate in that category.  He's already posterizing nfl guys on a weekly basis.

Sark et al have already figured out how to best utilize him. If one if the others can work through their current weaknesses (Baxter- durability, Blue- ball security, Kellan-?, Red- attitude?) and give a bit of change of pace the offense will be even better for it. 

Edited by Dennis Taylor

The biggest strength of Brooks is finding the right hole and there are a lot of holes right now with our OL. 

Sitting for 2 years probably wasn't a detriment to Brooks because he knows exactly where to go and that matters. 

 

Serious comparison. Tony Pollard. But with slightly better power.

On 9/29/2023 at 2:35 PM, BonzoMontreaux said:

What's the significance of the forearm tap after scoring?

Jonathan's father passed away 2 years ago.    This was on KVUE.

 

 

 

8 minutes ago, torre said:

Jonathan's father passed away 2 years ago.    This was on KVUE.

 

 

 

Just listened to todays PC and I figured it had something to with his Dad passing.  Thanks for posting.

Behind paywall

 

 

Edited by LTtxfan

On 9/26/2023 at 8:19 PM, cochamps said:

He is fast and does not go down easy.  Very nice combination.

I also like how he pulls the ball close to him when he knows a defender is trying to slap or strip the ball to prevent a fumble. 

16 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Behind paywall

 

 

I saw him at the state championdhip game and thought it strange that he was a 3 star.  He looked like the real deal and has proven to be so.

He has the timing feel that our other/most backs are missing. The long td run in 3rd Q on sat was prime example, slight crow hop as the OL cleared the massive hole. He also has the speed to hit it too. 

Hallettsville is retiring his jersey the Friday of the off week.

IMG_4560.jpeg

5 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

 

For some reason I can not copy the text, but here's a screenshot of a great comment about Brooks  talent and vision.

Screenshot_20231004-102001_kindlephoto-8039112.thumb.png.d8996db279177304219fb5825d83f234.png

 

Seems like the really great RBs keep their heads up more and have great vision in the hole.  Emmitt Smith was often difficult to get a clear shot on, and was a tremendous runner in traffic.  Brooks also seems to have an uncanny ability to avoid a lot of hits.  🤘

Screenshot_20231004-130240_kindlephoto-13123880.thumb.png.fb067d4656cf845e9f1c76b38e0a089a.png

 

 

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — When Texas running back Jonathon Brooks gets to the end zone, he celebrates with a tap of his right forearm.

It is a quick and subtle gesture that can be easy to miss, but it’s a powerful one for Brooks. His arm is tattooed with the Roman numerals for 3-28-22, for March 28, 2022, the date his father James “Skip” Brooks died at age 49 after long struggles with kidney failure.

“I really just miss, whenever I have success, the smile on his face,” Brooks said. “I think about that every time I score.”

Brooks has been the breakout player for No. 3 Texas through the first five games of 2023. He leads the league in rushing with 597 yards and has scored five touchdowns for the Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) heading into Saturday’s showdown with No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0). He has three scores of 37 yards or longer.

In an offense full of big-play potential, coach Steve Sarkisian calls Brooks a “home run hitter” for the Longhorns. And that says a lot for a third-year back who didn’t even start the season as the top replacement for the electric Bijan Robinson, who left for the NFL after last season.

That honor went to freshman C.J. Baxter, who left the first game game with a rib injury. Brooks has simply taken over since then.

“We felt like (Baxter) had earned the opportunity to be the first back out,” Sarkisian said. “Things have shifted some.”

Brooks’ 597 yards through five games exceeds Robinson’s 515 at the same point last season. And while he may not have Robinson’s effortless elusiveness, Brooks has proven he can bring a similar combination of speed, power and elite moves in space.

“Now he’s making safeties miss,” Sarkisian said. “When you can do that ... .”

When a running back can do that, he can get to the end zone in a hurry.

Brooks ran for 217 yards in last week’s 40-14 win over Kansas, including a 54-yard touchdown and a 67-yarder. Both were plays that started in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Once he was past the first line of defenders, Brooks gave another tackler a quick shake and he was off and running.

In a 38-6 win at Baylor, he scored the first touchdown with speed when he bounced off right tackle, got to the edge and outraced a defender 40 yards to the end zone.

Brooks has three consecutive 100-yard games. In the win at Alabama, he ran six times for 29 yards and picked up two first downs as the Longhorns killed the final seven minutes off the clock.

All of it comes with a a bit of an “aw-shucks” attitude. Brooks has said he doesn’t consider himself very vast.

It was easy to overlook Brooks when the do-everything Robinson was around. Yet he showed glimpses of things to come. When Robinson skipped the Alamo Bowl, Brooks scored twice against Washington.

Brooks was a freshman when his father died. It happened during spring practice. Skip Brooks, who had a kidney transplant years earlier, had gone back into dialysis, and after another surgery developed a blood clot that traveled to his heart.

Brooks’ mother, Jennifer Donovan, scrambled a family member to campus to pull him out of practice for the 90-minute drive to the hospital in tiny Halletsville to say goodbye to his father.

“That had to be the longest drive,” Donovan said.

More than 30 Longhorns players and coaches attended the funeral and packed Shiner Lutheran Church for the service.

“Those guys are huge. It was sweet. It was awesome,” Donovan said.

Sarkisian said the Texas program tried to “put an arm around” Brooks to help him get through his grief.

“His teammates did a great job when his father passed. They were all there for him, our coaches were there for him,” Sarkisian said. “We try to pick our guys up ... I had an idea of what I wanted our culture to be, but these players have elevated to a space above and beyond what I thought it could be.”

Jennifer Donovan said Brooks and his family felt it. And she’s watched him grow through the grief and find his place on the football field.

“He went to college and became a man,” Donovan said.

 

We drive through Hallettsville every time we go to Port A or Rockport.  I hope there's a Johnathon Brooks billboard to admire in a few years.

Edited by kevwun

Jeez people!... Brooks looks exactly like Case McCoy on that herp a derp run against aggy

4 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

Reading between the lines of that tweet, my takeaway is that he is pretty good?

I get that Marshawn vibe from him but with speed that kills. 

Amazing story and a testament to those who saw the potential.  I guess that would be Drayton.  I thought I remembered his offer list was better than it was.  Other than TT, it was UTSA, Colorado State etc.  

Kid looked like a beast every time he got a chance to play but that was usually against gassed defenses before this year.  
 

Really proud to call him a Longhorn. 

14 minutes ago, NoRagrets said:

Should he be in the conversation for the Doak?

Let's keep hanging 100+ yd games and multiple touchdowns on people first then talk awards. Especially this week. 

Sark definitely doesn't have a lot of patience with the run game but I think he's starting to feel more comfortable giving Brooks a lot of carries. 

Seeing less gadget things against Kansas and a more simple ass whooping by our OL. 

What will really be nice is if we can open some holes for him against OU. Brooks may not be a home run hitter but he's able to make safeties miss and tough to bring down. 

Also he has saved our collective asses quite a few times with heads up plays like that fumble recovery for a first down on 4th and 1 against Alabama. 

15 hours ago, oldhorn2 said:

Jeez people!... Brooks looks exactly like Case McCoy on that herp a derp run against aggy

No, that was Quinn, but as long as he gets in the end zone I don't care if he looks like Jake Majors.

2 minutes ago, Hard Times said:

No, that was Quinn, but as long as he gets in the end zone I don't care if he looks like Jake Majors.

That is exactly what I thought but smart ass that I am I threw Brooks in there to fit the convo. Good catch.

What would his YPC been taking out that massive loss on the snap that sailed over Quinn’s head?  That shouldn’t count against him.  

36 minutes ago, Frank Drebin said:

What would his YPC been taking out that massive loss on the snap that sailed over Quinn’s head?  That shouldn’t count against him.  

It doesn’t count against him. 

37 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

It doesn’t count against him. 

Good.  I thought it did because Charles fell on a fumble against Ohio State (in the shoe, at night) and lost a bunch of yards.  But now I am thinking that is because it was he was recovering his own fumble, not someone else's.

Just now, Frank Drebin said:

Good.  I thought it did because Charles fell on a fumble against Ohio State (in the shoe, at night) and lost a bunch of yards.  But now I am thinking that is because it was he was recovering his own fumble, not someone else's.

Yeah. This one was “team” lost yardage.

2 hours ago, Hard Times said:

No, that was Quinn, but as long as he gets in the end zone I don't care if he looks like Jake Majors.

Seriously....when I saw Quinn's td against Kansas I thought it looked exactly like Thujon's picture

5 minutes ago, oldhorn2 said:

Seriously....when I saw Quinn's td against Kansas I thought it looked exactly like Thujon's picture

The run had a little herp in it, but not so much derp.

He reminds me of Cedric Benson just smaller and a little less powerful but for the most part has the same skillset. Maybe even faster.

5.9 ypc today despite shitty goal line play calling and a weak day from OL. 

Edited by USNALonghorn

Second that.  Brooks is a beast.  How many missed tackles today.  
Baxter is clearly a step down though excited to see how he develops with time.  


Gives me a little D’onta vibes.  Just kinda gets to work and then you look at the stat sheet and he has like 180 yards.  

Second that.  Brooks is a beast.  How many missed tackles today.  
Baxter is clearly a step down though excited to see how he develops with time.  

Gives me a little D’onta vibes.  Just kinda gets to work and then you look at the stat sheet and he has like 180 yards.  

I would have bet a lot of money he had more than 5 catches for 34 yards though.

@immamac, can you keep us updated on the NIL effort for Brooks? As we get closer to the goal, it might help motivate those who have given to give a little more, and those who have not to pitch in.

17 hours ago, Dr.Dre said:

Second that.  Brooks is a beast.  How many missed tackles today.  
Baxter is clearly a step down though excited to see how he develops with time.  


Gives me a little D’onta vibes.  Just kinda gets to work and then you look at the stat sheet and he has like 180 yards.  

And yet, this coaching staff thought a true freshman was the better back to start the season, lol

And yet, this coaching staff thought a true freshman was the better back to start the season, lol

I would liked to have seen Baxter in at the goal line. OU would have bit on that little play action boot fake. Let Quinn stroll in the end zone.

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