Texas Tech football alums: Jordyn Brooks has huge game on Monday Night Football

Former Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks is less than a year removed from a torn knee ligament suffered on New Year’s Day of 2023 but he’s back on the field and making an impact for the Seattle Seahawks.  On Monday night, he had his best game this season helping his team to a dominant win over the New York Giants on national television.

In the 24-3 road victory that took Seattle to 3-1 on the year, Brooks was credited with 10 tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery.  It was part of a defensive effort that carried the Seahawks to a win despite playing without starting QB, Gino Smith for a long stretch in the middle of the game.

On the Giant’s first drive of the game, Brooks shoved New York QB, Daniel Jones out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage to record his first sack of the game.  That would help stall a promising NY possession that would eventually end on a failed 4th-down conversion.

Later, on the Giants’ third possession, Brooks would scoop up a fumble caused by Mario Edwards and return it eight yards to set his offense up at the N.Y. seven.  That would lead to Seattle’s first touchdown of the game, a score that would give the visitors a lead they would never relinquish.

In the third quarter, Brooks would pick up his second sack of the game on a blitz to bring down Jones for no gain.  It was one of a whopping 11 sacks Seattle would record on the evening.

The former Texas Tech star is one of the most productive players in the NFL

Despite last season’s injury, Brooks remains one of the more productive players in the NFL.  In 2021 he racked up 184 tackles and led the NFL with 109 solo stops.  A season ago, he was credited with 161 tackles, 103 of which were solo.  For his career, he’s got 443 tackles, 4.0 sacks, and three fumble recoveries over three-plus seasons.

Many were surprised when Seattle selected the Red Raider great with the 27th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.  But after a slow start in his rookie season, he’s become a valuable member of a stout Seattle defense.

Of course, Red Raider fans are accustomed to seeing Brooks make plays.  As a collegiate, he came up with 367 tackles and 6.5 sacks.  He is 7th on the Tech all-time tackles list.

That number included a career-high 108 tackles as a senior in 2019.  That was the most by a Red Raider since 2015.  What’s more, his 20.0 tackles for loss that year were the most in program history since 2003.

A second-team All-American according to the Associated Press, he was a Butkus Award finalist, an award presented annually to the best linebacker in the NCAA.  That made him the first Tech linebacker to be named to an All-American team since  Pro Football Hall of Fame member Zach Thomas in 1994-95.

Brooks isn’t a perfect player in the NFL though.  At times he struggles in pass coverage and he can be taken advantage of by speedier NFL players.

However, he is part of one of the best inside linebacker combos in the NFL when paired with future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner and together they are leading the Seattle defense to a strong start in 2023.  That continued Monday night when Brooks showed that he is back to full speed after his knee injury by dominating the Giants on Monday Night Football.