It looked as if it was as simple as hitting the “Post” button for Tahj Brooks to see his college football journey unfold. In Jan. 2020, six months after he committed to Texas Tech, the Manor native let anyone who saw his message know what his intentions were once he donned the scarlet and black.
“It was something I believed in and kudos to my hard work and my parents,” Brooks said following the Red Raiders’ 52-15 win over West Virginia. “My parents stayed on me, just to do something that has never been done here. I feel like I fulfilled that role. I can go (through) all the milestones I’ve completed, but it’s about the team aspect and we’re aiming for, hopefully to get win number nine. That’s something that hasn’t been done here in a long time.”
Brooks stepped onto Cody Campbell Field at Jones AT&T Stadium for the last time Saturday in a senior day smackdown of the Mountaineers. It was the second time Brooks went through Senior Day festivities.
He did it last season when the prospect of him jumping to the professional ranks first came to be. This time, it really was his last.
“It was bittersweet, you know what I mean?” Brooks said. “I was excited, a lot of emotions going through and things like that. It was something that I looked at, I did actually before I came in here I went into the stadium one time just to record and just look around. Just feel something because that’s kind of emotional, just a little bit. I love this place, I wouldn’t rather be (anywhere) else. I love my teammates, I love my coaches and I just love our fanbase here. That’s one big reason why I felt like we’re different, you’ve seen it today and the other games we’ve played.”
Brooks entered the game with 1,364 yards on the season. He broke Texas Tech’s all-time rushing record weeks ago against Colorado. It is his fifth season in the program and he truthfully accomplished about as much– if not way more– than anybody would have expected from him.
As if he needed any more accolades to tack on to his illustrious Tech career, Brooks rushed for 188 yards against the Mountaineers to become the first Red Raider to rush for more than 1,500 yards in two seasons.
Brooks wouldn’t go as far as calling himself the greatest running back in Texas Tech history, on the merit that he never won the Doak Walker Award like Bam Morris or Byron Hanspard did in the ‘90s, but his legacy is cemented as a legendary symbol in the mythos of Red Raider football right alongside them.
“Tahj, he’s the epitome of what a Texas Tech Red Raider is,” safety CJ Baskerville said. “If you want to look at a guy who does everything right and the results speak for itself, that’s the guy. I mean, there’s nobody who’s in the training room more than him. There’s nobody who’s in their film more than he is. And for him to take as many blows as he does every play, he gets hit minimum three to four times a play, and put up the numbers he does, it’s not by accident.
He’s the best running back to come through Texas Tech and it’s not by an accident. He does all the right things. He’s in the training room all the time, I can’t say any more about him, he’s somebody I look up to, personally. At times where I don’t want to be in the training room, or I don’t want to do this and that, like look at Tahj, and the results speak for itself, so I gotta get myself in the training room. That’s what he means to me and this team.”
How does an entire fanbase and program come to rally around a singular player? It was fixated upon a tap of the wrist. The “Brooks Time” celebration that started at some point in his collegiate career, maybe even before, which evolved into “Tahj Time.”
It became a staple for Brooks in the numerous times he found paydirt. It became the name of a website tracking his stats on his quest for No. 1 in the Red Raider rushing record books and is truly synonymous with his time at Texas Tech.
For as much as the Red Raiders have relied on Tahj Brooks the player, it was Tahj Brooks the symbol that became something his teammates and fans could truly believe in.
“The first day on campus, the first person that I’d seen actually was Tahj,” wide receiver Josh Kelly said. “I didn’t know it was him at the time, but that was the first person I had seen. The first workout, you could tell who the leader of the team was off rip, everybody gravitated towards Tahj. Tahj is a real, real humble dude. There’s times where you know, I kinda push Tahj, ‘Yell at the group.’ if things ain’t going right. But, you know, Tahj just does what he has to do and makes sure that he’s doing his part and not lacking in anything within the team.”
Brooks now has a decision to make. A bowl game is calling Tech’s game. Brooks said he and the coaching staff will make as far as whether or not he will compete in the Red Raiders’ postseason bid.
If this was the last time suiting up for Texas Tech, Brooks can certainly rest knowing the legacy he is leaving behind will last for many years. He will be impossible for the program to replace, in more facets of football than can be listed here.
“I’ve said in a lot of interviews before but he’s our security blanket,” quarterback Behren Morton said. “He’s the guy when we need juice going, we just gotta get 2-8 rolling. If we can get him rolling, the guys respond well. We’re gonna miss Tahj. I think everyone that’s a fan of Texas Tech is gonna miss Tahj. Me personally, I’m gonna miss him a lot. I’m excited for him and he’s gonna do great things. I’m excited to see him come back to Lubbock next year and see all the fans.”
