LINCOLN — Chris Brooks can sit and look at his future right now in two very different ways — and not complain about either option.
Thanks to three days with Tampa Bay two weeks ago, the former Nebraska receiver can still think about playing some more football before going out into the real world.
Brooks emerged from a crowded tryout to sign a free-agent contract with the Buccaneers. He will return to Tampa Bay on Sunday and start organized team activities next week.
After five years at NU, Brooks graduated last Saturday with his degree in economics.
He plowed through some tough times as a student, football player and father, securing some stability in his life if an NFL career isn't in the cards.
“Never let anybody say you can't do anything,” Brooks said, summing up both recent events. “Exactly when you quit, maybe that's how close you were to actually succeeding.”
Brooks will be a long shot in Tampa, but he already has surprised once. The Bucs brought in 49 undrafted players for a rookie minicamp the week after the NFL draft and signed only Brooks and four others.
A twist of fate stacked the odds even heavier against him. Brooks was coming off a case of food poisoning the week before that had caused him to lose 10 pounds and arrive at 205. Figuring that the Bucs didn't want to hear any excuses from an unheralded player with 17 career receptions, Brooks kept that to himself.
“I told them after the fact,” he said, “and they said they didn't want me that heavy anyway.”
Now he's on the Tampa Bay roster as No. 13, the result of grasping the playbook and turning in three solid days of work.
“Guys struggled, not playing as fast as they can, because they were thinking,” Brooks said. “I saw it, memorized it and just went out there and made plays. I caught the ball, got separation from defenders, tried my best to finish.”
With only marginal stats at Nebraska, Brooks drummed up interest at the Huskers' pro day when he was clocked as fast as 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash. NU strength and conditioning coach James Dobson had him at 4.43, timed electronically.
Other teams called after the draft, but the contact came from scouts. With Tampa Bay, it was receivers coach Eric Yarber, who also happened to know NU receivers coach Ted Gilmore.
The Buccaneers' rookie camp included two drafted receivers — second-rounder Arrelious Benn of Illinois and fourth-rounder Mike Williams of Syracuse. Brooks hung with them well enough to earn a two-year contract offer and an invitation to return for OTAs.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to be out there and see how I stacked up with them,” Brooks said. “Those are guys they drafted, so they're going to be there, but I don't look at it like I'm an underdog. It's football. At the end of the day, if you can't make plays or can't make separation, you're not going to be there or you're not going to play.”
It will be a challenge, Brooks said, but not unlike finishing his degree at Nebraska while playing football and helping to raise his 6-year-old son, Chris Jr. Dennis Leblanc, NU's senior associate athletic director for academics and compliance, said Brooks stayed after it with a diligence.
Brooks chose economics for a degree instead of something like communications or sociology. He thanked many of his instructors for helping “stretch my mind.”
The native of St. Louis wasn't sure he wanted to take part in NU graduation last Saturday at the Devaney Center, but did so for his son. It turned out that Chris Jr. was more excited for dad than the youngster would get at some Husker football games.
“I'll cherish that moment for the rest of my life,” Brooks said. “That's an accomplishment that a lot of people don't get to do, that a lot of people in my family didn't get to do.
“My degree is forever. Football isn't forever. It's an honor to have it. It's kind of like winning a championship. Once you get that ring, nobody can take that away from you.”
It's uncertain how much longer football will last for Brooks. When it's time to go to work, he could see himself helping people with their business or company, maybe some motivational speaking “just because of the things I've gone through.”
“I just love talking to people,” he said. “The big thing is I just don't want to sit behind a desk. Whatever comes up, I just want to be happy and be able to support my family as well as myself.”
Contact the writer:
444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
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