CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina has had three running backs in the past two seasons that have had career years.
Last fall, Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler rushed for 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2020, Michael Carter ran the ball for 1,245 yards and made nine trips to the endzone. And Javonte Williams earned a 95.9 rushing grade on PFF, the highest grade since the site began covering college football players. All of these players developed into NFL-caliber backs.
Perhaps, the running back that can keep this trend alive for the 2022 campaign is fifth-year senior British Brooks.
The former walk-on, who is taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19, flashed signs of his potential as a running back in the last three games of last season.
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At 5-foot-11 and weighing 226 pounds, the Gastonia, NC, native has the aesthetic of a 'power' back. However, maybe the most intriguing part of Brooks’ game is the breakaway speed he showed during his extended playing time towards the end of last season.
Against Wofford the week before Thanksgiving, Brooks rushed for 89 yards on seven carries, including a 38-yard scamper. Against NC State a week later, he had a 40-yard dash for a touchdown. Versus South Carolina, he set a new career-high for his longest run while setting the Duke Mayo's Bowl record for the longest touchdown run when he raced 63-yards into the end zone in the second quarter.
"He looked like he gained so much confidence against Wofford, and then we saw the same thing against NC State," said UNC Coach Mack Brown. "He looked fast, he looked powerful, he can catch the ball, he's a great blocker. So, I think he can be a force in that running back room moving forward."
With a proven commodity like Brooks in the running backs room, the position group has a role model that the younger, talented backs can follow. Leadership is not something entirely new to Brooks; he was the special teams captain and MVP in back-to-back seasons and posted a PFF grade of 84 on special teams in 2021. But, now the veteran Tar Heel has a chance to start the season at the top of the depth chart at running back, and he has taken his leadership to another level.
"I wouldn't say it's a big difference,” Brooks said. “I would say I've just been being me. Just keep doing what I did, but the biggest difference would probably be leadership.
“Since I'm the oldest in the room, I probably got two years on most of them. Just making sure they're own time and everything, make sure they're straight whether it's on or off-field. Make sure they're in class. Just trying to be the best big brother."
As the elder statesman of the running back room, Brooks has been trying to prepare his younger teammates for what's to come. He understands that one of the most significant adjustments an inexperienced back has to make is the game's physicality. So, when Brown decided to increase live tackling this past spring, Brooks knew it would help prepare the younger Heels for the fall.
"I feel as a running back we needed that, we can't just go thud all the time,” Brooks said. "Thud and live registers different in people's heads.
"I feel like in thud, you are trying to stay up, so you are not getting the real effect. For us to go tackle a lot I feel like as a running back, that's something you need because come the fall there is no thud."
Brooks’ leadership has been on display as a special teams captain. However, his experience could be the catalyst of another UNC running back breakout season, but it could also provide the tools for another younger back to see success come fall.
