hen you look at the long history of Notre Dame football you’ll be hard-pressed to find a player responsible for a pair of more memorable plays than Reggie Brooks. Brooks followed his older brother Tony’s lead and enrolled at Notre Dame in 1989. Originally a defensive back, the younger Brooks transitioned to tailback back for his junior season in 1991. That move resulted in Lou Holtz and the Irish getting one of the best years from a running back in program history.
Brooks didn’t make a major impact in 1991, rushing just 18 times all year. He made the most of those opportunities though as he ran for 122 yards (6.7 ypc) and a pair of touchdowns. The next year he soared and became forever entrenched in Notre Dame lore for two incredible plays (and for having a monster year).
The first came on a touchdown run against Michigan that Brooks broke at least five tackles during before being knocked out just before crossing the goal line.
That run came early in the year and helped set the tone for what would become a massive season. Brooks totaled 1,343 rushing yards that year while scoring 13 times on the ground and catching one pass for a 24-yard score. It was another reception he had that didn’t count as a reception in the box score, but is still remembered as clear as day by any Notre Dame or Penn State fan that watched it.
I tried my hardest but couldn’t find the outstanding Tony Roberts call of this sequence online.
A week later Brooks overcame a stomach bug to rush for 227 yards and three touchdowns at USC. His two memorable scoring plays earlier in the year paired with that performance in front of a national audience helped him to finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Not bad for someone who shared a backfield with some guy named Bettis, huh?
Brooks, [autotag]Rick Mirer[/autotag] and [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag] were the first real stars at Notre Dame that I remember watching. I know I watched games before that but those three were the first few that I grew an attachment to as a young fan.
Brooks would go on to be drafted by the Washington Redskins and played three years for them before finishing his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today he celebrates turning 52 so happy birthday to Reggie.
I might not have been able to find a clip of it but after writing this first thing this morning I promise you I’ll be yelling “REGGIE BROOKS! REGGIE BROOKS CAUGHT IT FOR A TWO-POINTER!” in my head all afternoon.
Happy birthday, 40!
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Enjoy a handful of pictures of Brooks career at Notre Dame and in the NFL below.