Brooks grew up in
Lanham, Maryland, and attended
DuVal High School.[1] He was a starting
defensive back and
quarterback for the Tigers. As a junior, he was named first-team All-Metro by The Washington Post and
first-team All-State at defensive back.[2] Midway through his senior season Brooks suffered a compound fracture on his ankle and a broken wrist while throwing a pass against
Wise High School, requiring five hours of surgery to repair and putting his football career in doubt.[3] He was still named second-team All-Metro, first-team All-State and the
Prince George's County 4A Offensive Player of the Year despite missing half of the season.[4] Although he originally had over 15 scholarship offers, much of his recruiting interest faded after his injury and he initially committed to play
college football at Buffalo. Brooks committed to play at Maryland a few days before
National Signing Day after a late push from coach
D. J. Durkin over offers from Pitt, Indiana, Hawaii, Buffalo, Army, Old Dominion and Charlotte.[5][6]
College career
Brooks played in six games, mostly on
special teams, during his freshman season before being suspended for the rest of the season.[7] He became the Terrapins' primary nickel back as a sophomore and finished second on the team with 77 tackles and led all defensive backs in the
Big Ten Conference with 9.5 tackles for loss along with one sack, two
interceptions, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.[8][9][10] As a junior, Brooks was Maryland's third leading tackler with 68 and led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks, three passes defended and an interception and was named second-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches.[11][12] As a senior, Brooks played safety and nickel linebacker and lead the team with 87 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss, and interception and six passes defended and again named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and to the third-team by the media.[13][14]
Brooks was selected by the
Pittsburgh Steelers with the 198th pick in the sixth round of the
2020 NFL Draft.[17] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the
practice squad the next day.[18][19] He was elevated to the active roster on October 31, November 7, November 14, and November 30 for the team's weeks 8, 9, 10, and 12 games against the
Baltimore Ravens,
Dallas Cowboys,
Cincinnati Bengals, and Ravens, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[20][21][22][23][24] He was signed to the active roster on December 3.[25]
On September 4, 2021, Brooks was signed to the
Los Angeles Rams practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 9, 2021.[27] He was waived on January 29, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad. Brooks won
Super Bowl LVI when the Rams defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals.[28]
On February 15, 2022, Brooks signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams.[29] He was waived on May 4, 2022.
On January 15, 2024, Brooks was selected by the
Memphis Showboats in the 12th round of the Super Draft portion of the
2024 UFL dispersal draft.[32] He signed with the team on January 30.[33] He was released on March 10, 2024.[34]