Extra Points: British Empire

There are the cool doo-rags and bucket hats with the interlocking NC logo on the front and the side brims curled up. There is the power and passion to blow up a double-team block on a kickoff cover team and sprint downfield to make the tackle. There was the drive to keep forging ahead as a lowly walk-on when teammates snuck him food from the training table.

But distinctive element number one for the graduate running back and special teams maestro from Gastonia?

That given name of British.

British Brooks smiles.

"My mother's name is Leslie," he says. "After she was born, my grandmother had a dream. She was at a park somewhere and kept calling out to a little boy named London. So she decided to name her next boy London. But it was a girl, so she named her Paris."

And so the names fell in the family: boys named London and Princeton, a girl named Paris and eventually grandchildren named Egypt, and of course, British.

"Egypt was going to be named Brazil at one point," British says. "And I have a brother named Bishop."

He pauses.

"Thanksgiving can be interesting around our family," he says. "My grandmother sometimes gets mixed up. She'll look at me and call me London."

There is no confusion, however, about the place British Brooks has on this Tar Heel football team, now 4-0 and set to face Syracuse Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Kenan Stadium.

He's a steely-eyed and laser-focused veteran, now in his sixth fall of college football after four conventional years, a season on the shelf with an injury and now reaping his extra Covid year of eligibility.

He's met the challenges of being a non-scholarship player and fighting through the pain and uncertainty of a season-ending knee injury in August 2022.

He carved his niche as a kicking game warrior, being named special teams captain and MVP in both the 2020-21 seasons.

And he's produced as a running back with a powerful style that either breaks tackles or carries opponents with him a few more yards down the field, and he learned early in his career how to launch forceful blocks a la Javonte Williams. He rushed for 99 yards on 24 carries in the Orange Bowl after the 2020 season when forced into starting when Michael Carter and Williams opted out. Then he rushed for 124 yards at N.C. State in the regular season finale in 2021 and added a 63-yard touchdown in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.

"British is an unbelievable kid," Tar Heel Coach Mack Brown says. "He means so much to our team. When there is so much talk of the transfer portal and NIL in college football today, here's a humble, selfless kid who's great to have around your program. It's fun to have him back out there this year."

Brooks had a solid career at Ashbrook High in Gastonia, rushing for 2,500-plus yards over his junior and senior seasons and earning all-conference honors in both years. But he drew little interest from college recruiters and was thinking of trying to walk on at UNC-Charlotte, but then he used his excellent grades and connection with fellow Gastonia native A.J. Blue, a former Tar Heel running back now on the strength and conditioning staff at Carolina, to open channels for a walk-on spot for the 2018 season.

At the time, walk-ons were not allowed to each lunch in the training table, so Brooks had to beg off when teammates said they were going to eat.

"It was embarrassing," he says. "I'd go eat some chips before lifting and going to practice."

Carter, Williams and other teammates snuck him trays of food, but Brooks eventually earned dining privileges and a full scholarship in 2021. The steaks and shrimp served for victory dinners never tasted so good.

"The rules changed and now the walk-ons can eat," he says. "I tell them, 'You don't know how good you've got it.'"

Brooks found his niche almost immediately in special teams—covering kicks, blocking for the punter and then covering downfield. By the 2019 season, he was playing every game in multiple kicking-game scenarios. As a sixth-year guy in 2023, he laments that role's been reduced to save his energies for the primary running back slot with Omarion Hampton.

"Special teams, that's still my baby," Brooks says. "Special teams motivated me to be a better player all around. Special teams help build confidence. You get all aspects of football in special teams—blocking, tackling, pursuit angles. Good special teams play is a game-changer."

Brooks thought his career was over following the preseason injury in 2022. But he hung around the team as a student coach, missed the competition and decided to come back for another year.

All of the ups and downs coalesced on the field at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on September 2 after the Tar Heels had bounced South Carolina 31-17, with Brooks starting and rushing for a game-high 103 yards. He knelt on one knee, a torrent of tears and emotion flowing. Brown saw him and gave him a heartfelt and lingering hug. Moments later, Brooks leaned against a wall in the bowels of the stadium, fielding questions from one reporter after another.

"I was trying to soak it all in …

"It was crazy, I was giving thanks to God I could get back out and run around …

"I looked up in the crowd, saw my family, thought about wondering if I'd ever play football again …

"This team has a lot of heart …"

Now four games into the season, the Tar Heels are unbeaten, ranked No. 13 in one poll and riding a level of maturity that has allowed the team to beat four quality opponents, win two games away from Kenan Stadium and not get caught up on off-field distractions.

Veterans like British Brooks are part of that equation. And he's delighted to be a part of it.

"We're getting more locked in on the small details," he says. "It's not about being 4-0. It's about being 1-0 and doing the little things right against Syracuse. I'm loving being a part of it, I think this is a special team."

Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace (Carolina '79) is in his 34th season writing about Tar Heel football under the "Extra Points" banner. Look for his columns throughout the season. Write him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him @LeePaceTweet.

Players Mentioned

British Brooks

Omarion Hampton

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