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Jonathon Brooks puts bell cow capabilities on display during the early portions of Texas' season

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook09/21/23josephcook89
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Jonathon Brooks (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

During three standout varsity seasons with Hallettsville, Jonathon Brooks was the bell cow for the Brahmas. In Hallettsville’s 2020 run to the state finals, Brooks tallied 295 carries for 3530 yards and 62 touchdowns. Those stats earned him the title of Mr. Texas Football from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

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Brooks had no problem being the lead back. He eclipsed 100 yards in every game during the 2020 campaign, and even posted an extraordinary 501-yard, nine-touchdown performance versus Lorena. After waiting patiently behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson in his first two seasons at Texas, plus with an opportunity created by Cedric Baxter being unavailable for much of the last two games, Brooks showcased his bell cow capabilities late versus Alabama and last week versus Wyoming as a Longhorn as opposed to as a Brahma.

“It was a really cool game for him,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “Coming into the season and Cedric being that lead back for the first two games, then Cedric getting hurt against Alabama in the fourth quarter, who finished that game? It was Jonathon Brooks. Who was carrying that ball at the end to close that game out?

“I think it instilled a lot of confidence in him. Then coming back Saturday night, when CJ couldn’t go and JB knew he was going to be the bell cow for us, I think he had that confidence from the week before that he could. It showed up, and I thought he played really good football for us Saturday night.”

Brooks tallied 20 carries for 164 yards versus the Cowboys, including a 61-yard rush deep into Wyoming territory that set up Quinn Ewers for a five-yard scoring scamper.

“I’m going to say what I didn’t like most is that I didn’t finish the run,” Brooks joked on Monday.

Brooks, as Sarkisian mentioned, was the player Texas relied on to close the last two games. Often, those responsibilities fell to Robinson and Johnson over the last two seasons, with Brooks’ opportunities mostly occurring when games were well in hand for the Longhorns.

Even in those opportunities, Brooks showcased what made him such a prolific rusher for the Brahmas. Last year versus Oklahoma, Brooks carried the ball seven times for 39 yards, and delivered the coup de grâce late in the fourth quarter to put the game at its final 49-0 mark. Then a few weeks later versus Kansas, Brooks recorded his first 100-yard game as a Longhorn with an 11-carry, 108-yard, two-touchdown day that included a 70-yard scoring jaunt.

Now, Brooks is able to use the lessons learned from Robinson and Johnson about practice mentality, leadership, and how to take care of himself as he strives to step into the role occupied by that now-professional duo.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brooks was the best in the nation during week three in making opponents miss.

Many of those key evasions took place in the fourth quarter of games. Of course, Brooks had the game-sealing third-down conversion late versus the Crimson Tide that put Texas’ 34-24 win on ice. That success was part of a team-wide offseason emphasis.

“We emphasize the fourth quarter a lot in practice and in our team meetings,” Brooks said. “We say that we need to finish some games because that’s what we struggled with the last two years. We finish in the fourth quarter, and it’s a mentality thing going out there and doing what we’ve got to do.”

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It’s lead to confidence for Brooks himself but also from his head coach. With Baxter making his way back from injury, Sarkisian still believes he can look to Brooks to be the bell cow his offense needs.

But a bell cow, whether as a Brahma or a Longhorn, is what Brooks’ role has been regularly for the past five years.

“He’s taking care of the ball better today than he ever has, knock on wood,” Sarkisian said. “He’s really taking care of the football. Situationally, he’s understanding what we’re trying to do. He’s a problem in the passing game. He’s just grown.”

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