Brian Kelly updates Greg Brooks Jr.'s progress following procedure to remove brain tumor

LSU coach Brian Kelly provided an update on the health of Greg Brooks Jr. following his brain surgery to remove a tumor recently.

The talented defensive back has obviously been sidelined since the tumor was discovered, and the LSU community has rallied behind him. Brooks seems to be doing well given the circumstances.

“He is making progress, and I think when we talk about progress after brain surgery you can imagine it’s a slow process,” Kelly said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call.

The LSU head coach had the chance to visit his sidelined star early this week, and the results of that visit were quite positive.

“He recognizes me. He’s able to make eye contact,” Kelly explained. “He was up for rehabilitation, he was going to rehab that day, he was up on his feet moving around. But it’s still, there’s a long journey here for him. But it’s great to see that he’s making that progress.”

Brooks was first diagnosed with the brain tumor early in the 2022 season after playing in two games for the Tigers. Doctors discovered it after taking a closer look when Brooks noted he was experiencing repeated vertigo.

That was an issue he dealt with during fall camp, as well.

“We were trying to find out what the symptoms were and he had another episode,” Kelly said. “He had dizziness again on Wednesday of last week. Finally we said enough’s enough and we got an MRI and that’s when the tumor was located. So the vertigo was just a symptom of what was obviously a larger issue.”

Brooks is a big part of the LSU secondary, a multi-year starter who has plenty of past production.

In the first two games, Brooks recorded eight tackles and two pass break-ups before leaving the lineup due to the emergency. In five years, Brooks has totaled 186 tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble, six interceptions and 19 pass breakups.

But Kelly said it’s too early to know if Brooks will be able to play again in 2023.

“It’s so hard for me to even know. There are so many unanswered questions,” Kelly said. “I don’t even know that I could even begin to give you the medical pieces relative to the surgery to even give you an educated answer to that. I saw him in the hospital on Sunday. He’s still coming out of heavy sedation, so we weren’t able to have a lucid conversation but I know before he went in he was pretty clear about playing again this year, but that’s Greg Brooks.”