CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its fifth practice of fall camp Monday morning at the Koman Practice Complex, and afterward, graduate running back British Brooks fielded questions from the media.
Brooks missed last season after tearing his knee in fall camp last August. But he is back now, battling for a spot in the rotation in UNC’s running backs room, and serving on almost all of the Tar Heels’ special teams units.
He was asked about his health, the process in overcoming the injury, the difficult points in the process, the running backs room, special teams, and more.
Above is video of the Q&A with Brooks, and below are some notes and itdbits from what he had to say:
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Discuss this article and UNC Football with other Tar Heels fans
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
*Brooks was cleared for full everything in early February but was limited in the spring as a precaution. Interestingly, in addition to the physical therapy of returning after such an invasive surgery, real-life activities helped Brooks get back on the field quicker.
“A lot of it was just staying in the weight room with (A.J.) Blue, and really just going home, because I’ve gotta walk up three flights of stairs every day. And I’ve gotta dog, so I’ve got to take her in and out at least four times a day, so I think that helped a lot.”
What kind of dog does he have?
“Her name is Athena, she’s an XL Bully.”
*What’s interesting about Brooks is that he didn’t go into deep, pensive thought about his options to return to UNC or move on. It was actually stress-less.
“Honestly, I just woke up and said I was coming back. I don’t got no reason or rhyme, I just woke up one day and I told (UNC Coach) Mack (Brown) I wanted to come back.”
*Brooks wanted to return because he felt that inner burn to go at it one more time. The opportunity was there, so he took it. But he was fueled some by what he saw when on the sidelines.
“I would be out here and see somebody take a play off and it would just eat me alive, eat me alive.”
In addition, Brooks said he’s on “all of them” with respect to special teams. And when asked if he’s going to be a captain there and a voice in the room, he replied, “I’m gonna do whatever I feel like. If I’ve gotta play defense, I’ll play defense.” He said the latter smiling.
