Sometimes things just don't make sense. That's often the case when it comes to postseason honors in sports. Thursday, Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks learned that the hard way.
Despite leading the Big 12 in rushing yards per game this fall, Brooks was not named a first-team All-Big 12 selection. Instead, he had to settle for second-team honors as Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo and UCF's RJ Harvey were named to the first team.
While Skattebo and Harvey were also fantastic this season, the fact that both got first-team nods over Brooks is almost criminal. That's because, by almost every measure Brooks had comparable or better statistics, as you can see below.
Statistic | Tahj Brooks | Cam Skattebo | RJ Harvey |
|---|---|---|---|
Total Rushing Yards | 1,505 | 1,398 | 1,577 |
Rushing Yards Per Game | 136.8 | 127.1 | 131.4 |
Yards Per Carry | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.8 |
Rushing Touchdowns | 17 | 17 | 22 |
There's no denying that Skattebo had a fantastic season. However, he wasn't a better pure running back than Brooks.
Instead, he received more attention this year, especially down the stretch, because of his team's rise through the Big 12 ranks. Both Brooks and Skattebo were the focal point of their respective offenses but voters likely paid more attention to Skattebo in November given that his team played in meaningful games that people tuned into.
For example, in the final two games of the regular season, Tech was playing meaningless games (as far as the Big 12 race was concerned) against Oklahoma State and West Virginia. Therefore, few people outside of Texas Tech fans saw Brooks put up 198 total yards and four touchdowns against the Cowboys and 223 total yards and three touchdowns against the Mountaineers.
2024 #Big12FB All-Big 12 First Team Offense 🏅 pic.twitter.com/PYFA53miYr
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) December 5, 2024
On the other hand, people across the Big 12 were likely by the channel to see Skaeeto put up 159 total yards and three TDs in a critical win over BYU and 185 total yards and three more scores against rival Arizona in the final two weeks of the regular season to help his team clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game.
But why Harvey earned the first-team honors over Brooks is harder to understand. In this case, we must assume that the voters simply went by the final statistics of the season.
If that is the case, they failed to take into account that Brooks missed one game giving Harvey the edge in rushing yards. Playing in all 12 games this year, Harvey finished with 72 more total rushing yards but had Brooks played against Washington State, he likely would have led the Big 12 in rushing.
Also, if Skattebo is going to be rewarded for Arizona State going 7-2 in Big 12 play, shouldn't Harvey be slotted behind Brooks given that Tech went 6-3 in conference play while UCF was just 2-7? There simply is no logic to the results of this vote.
In the end, all three players have an argument to be a first-team All-Big 12 honoree. However, given the success of their teams this year, Skattebo and Brooks should have been the first-team running backs. But that didn't happen and Brooks was the player who had to settle for second-team recognition in a development that stunned Texas Tech football fans.