Robert Brooks chose USC and new position over Clemson allure. The rest is history

Robert Brooks never had any fixations on delaying his college football career.

He’d spent his entire childhood and the bulk of his time starring at Greenwood High School dreaming of lining up in the backfield at Clemson. Danny Ford. Terry Allen. Those names resonated. But the Tigers staff felt it best for Brooks to redshirt his first season on campus, should he sign there.

South Carolina head coach Joe Morrison and offensive coordinator Al Groh thought otherwise — even while flipping Brooks from running back to receiver.

“I can’t remember catching a ball in high school because we ran the ball so much,” Brooks quipped. “I wanted to go to Clemson. I wanted to be a Clemson running back back in the day. ... But I just did not want to be redshirted. That my personal preference. I was like, ‘I’m going to school where they won’t redshirt me.’ ”

Thirty-five years after spurning Clemson for South Carolina, Brooks is deeply ingrained in the modern history of Gamecocks football. His name appears 32 times in USC’s official record book. He ranks third in school history in all-purpose yards (4,301), fourth in touchdowns receiving (19) and seventh in career receptions (156).

That, along with helping popularize the “Lambeau Leap” during his time with the Green Bay Packers, is why he was part of the seven-person class inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Monday night at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

“You see the company that I’m in now and you look at the history — all the players that have gone in — I’m just blessed to be a part of it,” Brooks, 52, told The State.

There’s a quietness to Brooks as he talks about his prolific career. He smiles at the accomplishments, sure. But he’s not one to be boastful or cocky.

Brooks’ college freshman season in 1988 came on the heels of legendary South Carolina pass-catcher Sterling Sharpe’s time in Columbia, a career that saw him drafted seventh overall by the Green Bay Packers in that year’s NFL Draft.

That alone drew its share of comparisons.

Sharpe and Brooks were equally dynamic after the catch. Each offered added upside in the kick return game. Yet their personalities differed wildly. Sharpe was a talker, always. Brooks, even to this day, is more soft-spoken. He wasn’t one to rile up huddles or lead impassioned speeches.

Brooks, who wore No. 49 rather than a flashier number during his time at USC, was almost unassuming. His play certainly wasn’t.

“Sterling was talking before he got back to the huddle, much less when he was in the huddle, about getting him the football — that was part of his competitive spirit,” former South Carolina quarterback Todd Ellis told The State. “Robert was like the silent assassin. That guy did nothing but break the huddle, get where he’s supposed to go, get open and then was tremendous after he caught the football.”

Brooks starred as a freshman in a time when most were relegated to the sidelines, redshirting or awaiting a chance at a bigger role a year or two down the line. With Sharpe off to the NFL, South Carolina couldn’t afford that.

Despite never playing receiver before his first college season, Brooks corralled 34 passes for 508 yards and four touchdowns. The comparisons to Sharpe came. The optimism for his future persisted.

But for what positives Brooks’ play on the field brought, the program was dealing with controversy and off-field issues. USC reeled from the steroid scandal involving its football team, broken by Sports Illustrated in October 1988. Head coach Joe Morrison died suddenly four months later.

That left new head coach Sparky Woods — after a stint at Appalachian State — to oversee a program that had evolved into a steady winner in recent years. The combination of Ellis and Eddie Miller and Brooks at receiver were logical building blocks for Woods and offensive coordinator Art Wilkins.

“I think (Brooks) weighed about 175 pounds soaking wet,” Woods told The State. “He. Could. Run. And he was dangerous when he got that ball in his hands.”

Ellis and Brooks had developed a rapport during the latter’s first season in Columbia. Two weeks before sparking a comeback at Virginia Tech with a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown in 1988, Brooks played giant-slayer in his fourth-ever college game against No. 6 Georgia.

Taking a five-step drop, Ellis lofted a 36-yard pass toward Brooks over the shoulder of Bulldogs defensive back and future first round pick Ben Smith. With his right hand outstretched, Brooks bobbled the ball once, squeezed his fingers tight and tapped his toes for a score.

“By the time we get into the season (Brooks’ freshman year),” Ellis said, “you had to think about trying to get him the ball on every possession.”

The 1989 season ebbed and flowed wildly with Brooks and Ellis at the center of it. The Gamecocks ripped off a 5-1-1 start, including a 24-20 win over No. 23 Georgia in Athens.

Week 8 brought a ranked matchup against No. 20 N.C. State, putting South Carolina’s four-game win streak on the line.

The week prior included practicing a blitz adjustment in which Brooks would run a backside dig. The needed matchup came that Saturday and Ellis adjusted at the line. Roberts was open. Ellis attempted to fire, but N.C. State linebacker Mark Thomas crashed into Ellis’ knee, tearing his MCL.

Ellis never played another down at South Carolina.

“I got hit just as I threw it and we probably win the ball game that day (if it goes differently),” Ellis said. “Literally (my) last play, I was trying to find a way to get the ball to him.”

Brooks, who now lives in the Phoenix area, finished his time at South Carolina with over 2,200 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. He spent four years in Green Bay alongside Sharpe, evolving into a dynamic weapon alongside the man he followed in Columbia. Brooks added a Super Bowl ring to his glossy resume in 1996, though he suffered a severe knee injury in Week 7 and was unable to play the rest of the season. His 60-catch, 1,010-yard, seven-touchdown campaign the following year also netted him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

“I look back now,” Brooks said, “and I’m really proud that I was able to do some good things for my family.”

Brooks was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. Monday night, he was immortalized by his home state’s hall of fame, too.

But don’t expect Brooks to dote his honor loudly. That’s not in his nature.