Ron Brooks (born October 16, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He has also played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

and

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

Early life

A native of Irving,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, Brooks attended MacArthur High School, where he was a decorated dual-threat

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. As a senior, he rushed for 1,264 yards and 19 touchdowns, and also threw for 882 yards and nine touchdowns while being named the District 7-5A MVP. He was selected to the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Brooks was a four-star recruit as an athlete coming out of high school by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

''. He chose LSU over offers from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

, and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College career

Appearing in 53 games, he accumulated 90 tackles, including 12.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, ten pass breakups, three interceptions, and forced five fumbles while recovering three. He started in three games in his career at

, playing behind

Patrick Peterson Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. (born July 11, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensiv ...

Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was unanimous ...

, and

Tyrann Mathieu Tyrann Devine Mathieu (; born May 13, 1992) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU. In college he developed a reputation for causing turnovers, setting ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Brooks was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round, 124th overall, of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Bills previously traded Lee Evans to the Baltimore Ravens to acquire the pick used to select Brooks. Ron Brooks Bills Camp 2015

2012 season

In his rookie season, he missed the first seven games due to a broken bone in his foot he sustained in the final pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. He was placed on injured reserve with the "designated to return" label. He returned in Week 9 against the Houston Texans, and went on to play in nine games, starting in two of them, and finished his rookie season with 19 tackles and four passes defended. On December 2, 2012, Brooks made his first career NFL start and led the Bills with a season high nine tackles and three passes defensed against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

2013 season

Brooks spent his 2013 season mostly on special teams, recording only 7 tackles on the season.

2014 season

On December 2, 2014, making his only start of the season, Brooks led the Bills with a season high eight tackles and a pass defended against the New England Patriots.

2015 season

On December 30, 2015, Brooks was placed on injured reserve.

Philadelphia Eagles

2016 season

On March 9, 2016, Brooks signed a three-year deal with the

, reuniting him with former Bills defensive coordinator

Jim Schwartz James J. Schwartz (born June 2, 1966) is an American football coach who is a Senior Defensive Assistant for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) ...

. In Week 7 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

, Brooks ruptured his right quadriceps tendon, keeping him out for the rest of the season. On August 30, 2017, Brooks was released by the Eagles.

San Diego Fleet

In 2019, Brooks joined the

of the Alliance of American Football. In the season opener against the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

, Brooks intercepted quarterback Logan Woodside in the endzone. In 8 games prior to the league suspending operations, Brooks also made 13 tackles, and defended 5 passes, while also contributing as a returner on special teams, including a 56 yard punt return for a touchdown in week 4. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bioBuffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Ron Living people 1988 births Players of American football from Dallas African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks LSU Tigers football players Buffalo Bills players Philadelphia Eagles players San Diego Fleet players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people