After a ‘panic moment,’ Northwestern’s Sam Brooks is ready to play for the Hurricanes

Northwestern’s Sam Brooks had a moment of doubt last week, a slight hesitation that could have caused him to make a rash decision.

But in the end, as far as Brooks was concerned, “it was all about the U.”

Brooks left little doubt where he was going at Wednesday morning’s signing ceremony in the Northwestern High School media center when he showed up wearing UM sweats and carrying an orange and green manila folder with his signing papers.

Brooks then donned his Canes cap and let everybody know he would be headed right down the road to Coral Gables for the next four years.

And that was good news for new UM co-defensive coordinators Ephraim Banda and Jonathan Patke. When Canes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz announced he was leaving to become Temple’s new head coach, they were left scrambling trying to reach out to previously committed players to make sure they were still coming which included Brooks.

“When Coach Diaz left it was actually a panic moment for me,” Brooks said in a blunt admission as he confirmed that three schools, South Carolina, Nebraska and Oregon came after him quickly when Diaz announced his plans. “I actually didn’t believe in the rest of the coaching staff and I want to apologize to them for that. Coach Banda and Coach Patke, they reached out to me and assured me it was going to be the same defense and I trust those guys.”

Brooks was one of seven Bulls signees who had their hats lined up at the table in the media center announcing their future plans.

Defensive end Calijah Kancey and safety Leslie Smith both signed with the University of Pittsburgh while safety Larry Robbins and DT Georell Kidd inked contracts with the University of Buffalo. Offensive tackle Mark Fox will head to the University of South Carolina and running back Jacquez Stuart signed on with Toledo.

Brooks’ journey was truly one of perseverance. It was 14 months ago in a game against Carol City that he was lying on the field writhing in pain. He had suffered a full tear of the ACL in his left knee.

Not only was his season over as he had to watch his team win a state championship on crutches from the sideline, but perhaps his future as well. Even though he was just a junior, Miami had already offered him and he had already accepted verbally. But would the Canes back off possible damaged goods?

“Sam was mentally tough but I was also impressed with the folks at the University of Miami because even after the knee injury, those coaches never wavered in their commitment to him,” said Bulls head coach Max Edwards, who just finished leading his team to an unlikely second straight state title following a 5-5 regular season. “When you have people that love you like that, you have to stick with them and I think that’s why he made the decision to stick with them because they stuck with him when he was down.”

Edwards confirmed that Brooks came to him last week for advice when he learned that Diaz was leaving.

“He said ‘coach what should I do,’ ” said Edwards. “I said Sam, stick with the people that love you. That’s part of the process. He thanked me, took that information and then went out and did what he had to do. I’m proud of him.”

“I’ve waited such a long time for this moment,” added Brooks, who became emotional when he stood before a crowded media center of students, family, faculty and media. “I’m finally going to college and it was such a long process that I went through and thank God that this day arrived. It was a great journey but a challenging one and in the end, it was about God. I feel God and my faith in him blessed me throughout this entire process.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 12:23 PM.