Maryland Football: Jalen Brooks brings stability to the defense
By Chris Bengel
Maryland’s linebackers were a relatively unknown commodity entering the 2015 season.
However, Jalen Brooks help make the position one of the strongest on the Terrapins defense.
The position was very different at the season’s conclusion than it was expected to be when Maryland opened the campaign against Richmond. Jermaine Carter was slated to start in the middle with Brooks and Jefferson Ashiru playing on the outside.
The season began with Ashiru starting at the “WILL” spot, but he only appeared in five games before going down with a season-ending ankle injury. After Ashiru got hurt, Brooks shifted over to the “SAM” spot and freshman Brett Zanotto took Brooks’ place on the weak side.
Despite a season filled with position changes, Brooks continued to excel.
Brooks didn’t have a ton of experience to draw from. The North Gwinett (Ga.) product only registered 19 tackles in limited playing time as a freshman during the 2014 season.
Despite not playing a whole lot as a freshman, Brooks turned in a very solid sophomore campaign. Brooks totaled 64 tackles (32 solo), two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
Brooks clearly displayed that he has a nose for the football.
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A large majority of his tackles occurred at the line of scrimmage or between the sticks. The former three-star linebackers wraps up nearly every time and rarely appears to be flustered.
Brooks is also a very skilled tackler when it comes to making plays in the open field.
For example, when Maryland hosted Michigan on Oct. 3 last season, the Wolverines were facing a 3rd-and-19 in the second quarter. With a long way to go for a conversion, it was expected that Jake Rudock would dump the football off and call a running play.
Rudock elected to dump off to tight end Jake Butt. While Butt isn’t the quickest player, he still possesses a great deal of power. Despite Butt catching the ball and having time to turn upfield, Brooks was still able to lay the hit and take down Butt for just a five-yard gain.
Brooks may only be 6’1, but he’s extremely physical and uses that to his advantage.
While he may not have racked up the tackles like Carter, Brooks was still incredibly productive. Brooks only had three games last season where he only recorded two or less tackles.
His best game came against West Virginia when he recorded 10 tackles (nine solo).
In Maryland’s loss to Michigan, Brooks displayed having a nose for the football once again. With the game still scoreless late in the first quarter, Wolverine running back Ty Isaac attempted to bounce to the outside, but as he cut back towards the inside, Brooks stripped the ball out of Isaac’s chest.
Maryland was able to recover the fumble in Michigan territory. Since the Terrapins got shut out 28-0, obviously they didn’t do anything with the turnover.
However, it was just another example of Brooks making a play when the defense needed him to.
Brooks just has a knack for getting to whoever has the football. There’s really no other way to put it.
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With a full season as a starter under his belt, Brooks could be come back even stronger as a junior. With a significant amount of talent departing from the defensive line and the secondary, Brooks could be one of the team’s most leaned-on players in 2016.