Texas Tech Football: How Tahj Brooks compares to other great Tech backs

Texas Tech football has gotten back on track the past two weeks with wins over Houston and Baylor. After arguably the offense’s worst performance of the season against West Virginia, offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has found something that clicks: Tahj Brooks. With Behren Morton at the helm for likely the rest of the season, a healthy running game is just what a young quarterback needs to lean on.

For four games in a row, Brooks has topped 100 yards rushing. No running back at Tech has done so since Ricky Williams in 1998. That season, he rushed for a total of 1,582 yards and 13 touchdowns.

As for Brooks, he is also currently fifth in the country in rushing with 688 yards on the season so far, a pretty nice feat considering he is up there with the likes of Notre Dame’s Audric Estime and Texas’ Jonathan Brooks.

In his latest performance against Baylor, Brooks was borderline unstoppable. He carried the ball an astounding 31 times and ran for 170 yards along with a score. For a program known to air it out, Tech is quickly becoming a “run first” team. Recently, SaRodorick Thompson set the standard for years as a lead back that could add balance, but Brooks has taken things to the next level.

While there is still plenty of football to be played, Brooks’ season has the makings of being one of the best a Red Raider back has had in a long time. It is rare Tech has an every-down back that is a big part of the offense, but that is what he has become. It makes one wonder how Brooks compares to other great backs the program has had in the modern era.