Kennedy

Brooks

Brooks (5'11/209) topped 1,000 yards rushing each of his three seasons with the Sooners (opted out in 2020), finishing with 3,529 yards from scrimmage and 31 total touchdowns. Brooks ran a 4.61 40 at the Combine with a 10-foot broad jump. His 31-inch vertical was not great, but he improved that to 35.5 inches at his Pro Day. Brooks does not have top-tier speed, power, or elusiveness, but he has enough of those things to produce given his excellent patience and vision. It would not be a surprise if he outplays his UDFA status and profiles as a good fit in Philadelphia’s system. He reportedly was given $240,000 guaranteed on his UDFA contract.

It’s no secret the Sooners’ leading rusher had a college career more than worth storying. He finished out his Oklahoma career with a grade of 93.3, the second-highest among running backs declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. That put him directly behind Tyler Allgeier of BYU and Kenneth Walker III of Michigan.

No shock here as the Sooners leading rusher will declare for the NFL draft. Brooks (5'11/215) is less than 24 hours off a fantastic performance in the Alamo Bowl against Oregon with 142 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 47-32 win. He had an amazing career in Oklahoma with three 1,000+ rushing yard seasons and two of three with over ten rushing touchdowns. This is a decent running back draft class, he’s up there amongst the top tier backs, and he’ll have a chance during the scouting period to boost his stock

Kennedy Brooks started the scoring in the Alamo Bowl. On the Sooners second drive, he took the handoff around the left end, cut it upfield, and burst past two defenders for a walk-in touchdown. After a Mims punt return got the ball to the Ducks 48, Brooks started the drive with a 40-yard run around right end. Brooks got a second touchdown to end the second half. Brooks scored on a split-zone play, broke it around left tackle, and snapped a cut inside to explode for a 29-yard touchdown run. His third touchdown was peak efficiency from Brooks. All night he displayed excellent patience, and that patience allowed the blocks to set up on the outside for an eight-yard score. Brooks ended the season with 1,253 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Brooks (5'11/215) has really caught fire over the last seven games, rushing for over 100-yards four times in that span in addition to punching in six touchdowns. He was instrumental in extending drives while keeping OSU’s ferocious pass rush at bay so they couldn’t pin their ears back and blitz with impunity. He also added an important 25-yard reception that netted a key first down for the Sooners in the second half. Though he didn’t score a touchdown, Brooks has solidified himself as the primary running back ahead of Tennessee transfer Eric Gray, who made a crucial fumble on a punt late in the fourth quarter, heading into bowl season and next season if he chooses to return.

OU’s offense was discombobulated in the first half, and Brooks didn’t get involved as much as Lincoln Riley probably would have preferred. Riley fed Brooks on the first play out of halftime and much often in the second half in general. Kansas had two breakdowns in run defense that turned out to be big -- neither of which included Brooks -- leading to WR Trevon West’s 66-yard run on a reverse and Caleb Williams’ 40-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Brooks’ long carry went for only 11, though he did have a 24-yard reception. Oklahoma improves to 8-0 after surviving this unexpected scare, and next hosts Texas Tech.

Brooks (5'11/215) was a major focal point for the Sooners offense early and often. He gained 37 yards and scored his touchdown on that first drive, which set the tone for the rest of the game as the Sooners racked up 230 yards on the ground. After splitting time with backs throughout his career, this is the first time that Brooks has been the true featured back and he is thriving thus far. The Sooners take on Kansas next Saturday.

Football is a game of inches. And that’s how close the line between playing hero and goat today was for Brooks. Early in the fourth quarter, trailing 41-30, Brooks broke off a long run of at least 60 yards -- but got stripped from behind by a Texas defender at the UT 10. The Longhorns recovered the fumble. But it was overturned and OU salvaged a field goal. Fast forward to less than 10 seconds left in regulation of a tie game, Oklahoma had driven the ball down to Texas’ 33 but wanted to get a little closer for a game-winning field goal attempt. Instead, Brooks broke through the line and raced to the end zone to score a game-winning touchdown himself. Now 6-0, Oklahoma gets TCU at home next Saturday.

Brooks (5'11/215) had been serving as the secondary rushing option behind Tennessee transfer Eric Gray for the first few games, but he clearly outpaced Gray today by a 92-to-22 yards differential. With Gray receiving just four carries in the game, Brooks was leaned on to salt away the game with Oklahoma up 34-17 in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats came back to make it interesting with a late scoring flurry, but it was too little too late. Brooks appears to have the inside track on starting duties when Oklahoma squares off against Texas next week.

Brooks (5'11"/220) and fellow RB Elijah Gray carried the offense against Nebraska’s soft zone defense. The power run game was key to the close win, with Oklahoma totaling 194 rushing yards on the day. Brooks had a quite a few big runs to extend drives and punched in the clinching score from two yards out in the 4th quarter to give Oklahoma the win. Brooks and Oklahoma get West Virginia next week.