Miami Northwestern LB Brooks chooses Miami on visit: “I’ll dominate that 4-3 defense in the ACC”
4 min read
2019 Miami (FL) Northwestern 3-star LB Samuel Brooks took an unofficial visit to Coral Gables this weekend with his mother and sister to see if the Miami Hurricanes were the program for him, but, deep down, he already knew where his heart was. Brooks committed to the coaching staff on the trip and ended his recruitment, becoming Miami’s 12th commitment in the class of 2019.
“It felt pretty good because of the love and the atmosphere of UM’s coaching staff,” Brooks said on his pledge to “The U”. “Coach Diaz was pretty excited about it, he screamed a little.”
The commitment actually came after the Miami-Virginia Tech basketball game, a contest that the Canes won by one-point. Also joining Brooks on the visit? UM target Khris Bogle and fellow commit Denzel Daxon.
“I was hanging out with some of the coaches such as (Manny) Diaz, (Ephraim) Banda, and (Jon) Richt,” Brooks said of the visit. “We were at the basketball game talking and catching up on things.”
Brooks suffered a pretty nasty injury in October of his junior year, tearing his meniscus and ACL on a sack. Will he be ready to roll for his senior year of high school at Northwestern?
“Absolutely,” Brooks stated. “I’ll be ready in the spring, but I’m still not going to play. I’m just gonna focus on the fall and kill everything and everybody my senior year.”
Despite the devastating injury setback, Miami coaches stuck with and supported Brooks. It was that support that played a role in his commitment this past weekend.
“Well, first of all, the loyalty, you know,” Brooks said. “You probably heard of me tearing my ACL and meniscus last season, but that didn’t change anything between me and UM. That injury took a lot of eyes off me, but the Canes stayed committed (to me).”
Another reason Brooks chose Miami? His fit in Diaz’s defense.
“I also think I’ll dominate that 4-3 defense in the ACC.”
While his UM commitment is now on the books, Brooks will still be taking some visits just to see how others compare to the Canes.
“I have South Carolina on the 29th and I’ll also be going to Arkansas, Florida, and Kentucky,” Brooks said.
But, when asked how solid he is to the Hurricanes, Brooks didn’t hesitate: “100%,” he said.
Right now, partly due to his injury, Brooks is modestly rated as a three-star recruit. Based on that ranking, he took exception to a recent Rivals update, laughing at the fact he was not even ranked at his position in a tweet. Brooks shrugged it off and only uses it as motivation to make the recruiting services regret it.
“Well, they had me as 3-star, not ranked, and also not in the ESPN 300 in my class,” Brooks said. “But, you know, I really don’t pay any attention to that because when pads come on everybody knows and respects Sam Brooks. I tweeted it just to show how I can prove everybody wrong when I get back on the field and boost up my ratings.”
For his return to the field, Brooks sees big things coming in his senior year. He already led Dade County in sacks as a sophomore and was on his way to another sack title in his junior season before the injury.
“I’m going to lead Dade County in everything: sacks, tackles, tackles for loss,” Brooks said. “I’m easily rated a 5-star, I just have to prove it again like I been doing my past three years in high school.”
With Brooks’ commitment, the Canes have the #1 class on 247Sports and the #2 class on Rivals. What are his thoughts on the highly-ranked Surge19 class he is joining?
“Jesiah Pierre, I think he’s a great player,” Brooks said of his fellow LB classmate. “I watch his film, he’s a beast. Also, Denzel (Daxon), I think he got great size for the next level, and the list go on and on.”
And his expectations for his freshman year at UM?
“I believe I will be a freshman starter at UM making senior plays.”
“It felt pretty good because of the love and the atmosphere of UM’s coaching staff,” Brooks said on his pledge to “The U”. “Coach Diaz was pretty excited about it, he screamed a little.”
The commitment actually came after the Miami-Virginia Tech basketball game, a contest that the Canes won by one-point. Also joining Brooks on the visit? UM target Khris Bogle and fellow commit Denzel Daxon.
“I was hanging out with some of the coaches such as (Manny) Diaz, (Ephraim) Banda, and (Jon) Richt,” Brooks said of the visit. “We were at the basketball game talking and catching up on things.”
Brooks suffered a pretty nasty injury in October of his junior year, tearing his meniscus and ACL on a sack. Will he be ready to roll for his senior year of high school at Northwestern?
“Absolutely,” Brooks stated. “I’ll be ready in the spring, but I’m still not going to play. I’m just gonna focus on the fall and kill everything and everybody my senior year.”
Despite the devastating injury setback, Miami coaches stuck with and supported Brooks. It was that support that played a role in his commitment this past weekend.
“Well, first of all, the loyalty, you know,” Brooks said. “You probably heard of me tearing my ACL and meniscus last season, but that didn’t change anything between me and UM. That injury took a lot of eyes off me, but the Canes stayed committed (to me).”
Another reason Brooks chose Miami? His fit in Diaz’s defense.
“I also think I’ll dominate that 4-3 defense in the ACC.”
While his UM commitment is now on the books, Brooks will still be taking some visits just to see how others compare to the Canes.
“I have South Carolina on the 29th and I’ll also be going to Arkansas, Florida, and Kentucky,” Brooks said.
But, when asked how solid he is to the Hurricanes, Brooks didn’t hesitate: “100%,” he said.
Right now, partly due to his injury, Brooks is modestly rated as a three-star recruit. Based on that ranking, he took exception to a recent Rivals update, laughing at the fact he was not even ranked at his position in a tweet. Brooks shrugged it off and only uses it as motivation to make the recruiting services regret it.
“Well, they had me as 3-star, not ranked, and also not in the ESPN 300 in my class,” Brooks said. “But, you know, I really don’t pay any attention to that because when pads come on everybody knows and respects Sam Brooks. I tweeted it just to show how I can prove everybody wrong when I get back on the field and boost up my ratings.”
For his return to the field, Brooks sees big things coming in his senior year. He already led Dade County in sacks as a sophomore and was on his way to another sack title in his junior season before the injury.
“I’m going to lead Dade County in everything: sacks, tackles, tackles for loss,” Brooks said. “I’m easily rated a 5-star, I just have to prove it again like I been doing my past three years in high school.”
With Brooks’ commitment, the Canes have the #1 class on 247Sports and the #2 class on Rivals. What are his thoughts on the highly-ranked Surge19 class he is joining?
“Jesiah Pierre, I think he’s a great player,” Brooks said of his fellow LB classmate. “I watch his film, he’s a beast. Also, Denzel (Daxon), I think he got great size for the next level, and the list go on and on.”
And his expectations for his freshman year at UM?
“I believe I will be a freshman starter at UM making senior plays.”
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