One last chance: British Brooks returns for final season at UNC

British Brooks has unfinished business.

He might be one of the oldest guys on the UNC football team, but despite that, he still has something to prove. The graduate student from Gastonia quickly climbed the ladder of the Tar Heel roster — going from a preferred walk-on in 2018, to the presumptive starting running back in 2022.

But that progress was swiftly halted when Brooks suffered a lower-body injury last year during preseason practice. What was shaping up to be his best season yet quickly became a nightmare. Brooks tore a knee ligament mere weeks before the first game of 2022. Suddenly, he was out for the season, barely able to get out of his bed and walk around.

Still, Brooks said he never "thought about not playing." In his mind, there was only one option — run it back one last time. 

"I literally woke up one day and I told [Brown] I’d come back," he said.

Over the past year, Brooks hasn't been resting. He was on the sidelines each game last season, coaching his teammates and providing them with sound advice, in his trademark, quiet fashion. Head coach Mack Brown said Brooks went to every running back meeting in 2022, despite being unable to play.

"He’s just an unbelievable kid," Brown said.

This summer, he was back on the field practicing with his teammates — something that seems to have paid off. Brooks is currently listed as a starter, alongside sophomore Omarion Hampton, at the running back position. On Saturday, he will finally look to reenergize UNC's run game against South Carolina in a position he has waited and worked for all his life. 

A quiet child 

When Brooks was young, he had a missing front tooth. 

As a result, he often would stumble over, and mess up his words. His solution for that was not to speak very much at all. Instead of talking, Brooks took up football. At age seven, he started playing for a Pop Warner team, the Union Road Jaguars. 

It wasn’t love at first sight. 

“I took him to practice and he had a very bad day and he wanted to quit,” Brooks' father Darius James said. “So on the ride home, I told him, 'Give it one more day and if you want to quit after that you can quit.'”

The next day was a lot better, and from then on, Brooks was hooked. 

By the time high school rolled around, he was fully committed to football. The summer between his ninth and tenth grades, Brooks had a growth spurt — jumping to 5-foot-10 and filling out. 

Despite his dedication and sudden size, he still wasn't a starter.

The man behind

“Weird thing is he's always been behind somebody,” James said. “He's been very good, but he's always kind of been behind somebody."

Brooks bided his time in the shadows, focusing on building connections with teammates and performing in school while he waited for his turn.

In his junior season at Ashbrook High School, it came at last. The starting running back left the team, and Brooks finally had room to shine.

That junior season, he claimed Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Year, rushing for 1,253 yards and 16 touchdowns. He continued the strong performance in his senior year. Under a new coach, Brian Andrews, he rushed for 1,344 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

When Andrews met Brooks, he already knew his name. He had coached against him in previous games and was aware of his potential.

“I basically told him, I'm going to run you 'til your legs fall off,” Andrews said. “That was our game plan, to get British the football.” 

All-around teammate

Brooks not only excelled on the field — he was also a role model for all his teammates.

“It's funny how sometimes an on-field presence and an off-field personality don't always mesh,” Andrews said. “Anyone that knows him, knows that he can be very quiet, very introspective. He's always thinking about something.” 

Despite his quiet persona, Brooks' teammates adored him. They looked up to his unwavering work ethic, and kind personality, and were able to always count on him. 

Brooks also stood out in the classroom. His father, a teacher at Ashbrook High School, instilled in him the importance of education from a young age. Brooks took time to build his relationships with his teachers as well, treating them with the same respect as he would his teammates.

James recalls a time one of Brooks' teachers, Ms. G, approached him at school. She was crying. But it wasn't out of anger or sadness. Rather, she was shedding tears of joy. She told James how proud she was of Brooks. Earlier that day, she fell down a staircase, and amidst the crowded hallway, Brooks was the only student who had stopped and helped her.

It was important for Brooks to prioritize school for another reason though — he wasn't getting much serious attention from college recruiters. 

A 10-second phone call 

Brooks knew he wanted to play college-ball but he wasn't receiving any offers. His coaches weren't sure why, but they remained certain of his ability to play at a Division I program.

By then, his father had been hired as an assistant coach for Brooks' high school. So one day, Andrews and James picked up the phone and dialed then UNC football head coach Larry Fedora, to ask about a preferred walk-on spot for Brooks at North Carolina. 

“I don't want to say what the exact response was, but I think it was like, heck yeah!” Andrews said. “The rest is history. I mean, all he needed was a chance.” 

Walk-on to running back

When Brooks got to UNC, it was solely due to academic merit. He had no scholarship and no official position on the team.

Nevertheless, he kept pushing, and saw the field in six games during his first season, mainly as a member of special teams. Brown, who returned to UNC as head coach in 2018, saw potential in Brooks, playing him more frequently at the running back position and awarding him a permanent athletic scholarship in 2021.

Brooks kept improving, and his team looked up to him because of it. While Brooks rehabbed his knee injury, his teammates were there to take care of him and make sure he still felt like part of the team.

"British means so much to our team," Brown said. "It's fun to have him out there."

While he will look to play his best on Saturday, he is also making one thing clear. 

“Now, I'm just not taking it for granted,” Brooks said. 

He's taking it one step at a time, just like his father's advice from when he first picked up the football. 

Give it just one more day, or, in his case, just one more year. 

@PeaceGwen

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com