Countdown to Kickoff: No. 35
Keith Brooking
The countdown to kickoff is officially on as Georgia Tech‘s season-opening matchup at Colorado on Aug. 29 is less than 100 days away.
Until then JOL will be counting it down with one Jackets’ player daily that wore the corresponding number of days remaining until toe meets leather in Boulder.
With it now 35 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 35 Keith Brooking, who was a mainstay at linebacker in the mid-1990s at Georgia Tech, starting 34 consecutive games and still holding the high mark in program history with 467 career tackles.
Brooking came to The Flats in the recruiting class of 1994, choosing Tech over other college offers after a stellar prep career at East Coweta High (Ga.) in Sharpsburg where he played both defense and offense for the Indians.
After not seeing much playing time as a freshman, Brooking became a starter at linebacker as a sophomore in 1995 and went on to lead the Jackets’ defense in tackles for the next three seasons. He made 146 tackles in 1995 (first in the ACC), 147 tackles in 1996 (second in the ACC) and 131 tackles in 1997.
During his senior season in 1997, he was a team captain, a finalist for the Butkus Award and a Second-Team All-ACC selection as he finished with the 131 total tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, three passes defended and one blocked field goal to help Tech to a 7-5 season and a 35-30 win over West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl.
Along with his top mark in Tech history in tackles with 467, Brooking also is tied for fourth in tackles in a single game with 20 against Clemson in 1995 and has the sixth and tied for seventh mark for tackles in a single season with 147 in 1996 and 146 in 1995.
After his impressive career on The Flats, Brooking went on to be picked 12th overall in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the hometown Atlanta Falcons and eventually had a long and productive 15-year pro career that included 11 seasons with the Falcons, three with the Dallas Cowboys and one with the Denver Broncos before his retirement following the 2012 season. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, two-time Second-Team All-Pro and led the NFL in solo tackles in 2003 with 126.
In all for his 15-year NFL career, Brooking played in 225 games with 193 starts and had 1,440 total tackles (1,103 solo), 58 tackles-for-loss, 22 sacks, 13 interceptions, nine forced fumbles and 10 fumble recoveries.
Brooking was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. He was also recently announced as a member of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame for the Class of 2025, which will be officially inducted during a ceremony this coming October 25th at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
