Longtime Tar Heel British Brooks shines Saturday with first two NFL touchdowns

British Brooks made his long-awaited return to the playing field for UNC last year. He enjoyed his first NFL breakout game on Saturday afternoon.

After five seasons playing primarily on special teams, backing up the UNC football team’s long line of talented running backs and missing all of 2022 with a lower-body injury, British Brooks was finally poised to start for the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2023.

After the App State game in Week 2, Brooks found himself relegated to the backup role once again. This was to no fault of his own, as star running back Omarion Hampton exploded for a 234-yard, 3-touchdown performance.

Even with all the roadblocks he faced to a starting path at UNC, Brooks made it to the NFL, signing with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. Brooks is already making a strong case for a roster spot, scoring two touchdowns in Houston’s 28-10, Saturday preseason victory over the New York Giants.

The UNC job was Brooks’ after his long-awaited season debut last year, with Brooks rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. This output might’ve been surprising to some, as Brooks hadn’t played since 2021, but anyone in the UNC football program expected this kind of production from the formerly longest-tenured Tar Heel.

For Brooks’ second touchdown, he took a shotgun handoff from Tim Boyle, racing 15 yards around the left side of his offensive line and the New York defense.

Houston is four deep at running back, headlined by longtime Cincinnati Bengals starter Joe Mixon and 2022 Texans starter Dameon Pierce. Brooks’ path to a starting role would be tough in Texas, but waiting for his chance isn’t anything new.

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