Jordyn Brooks – March 14, 2024
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Thursday, March 14, 2024
LB Jordyn Brooks
(I have to start off by asking you, 184 tackles in one season. How does a guy compile that many tackles in one season and how many times do you wake up on a Monday morning feeling like you were in a car wreck?) – “Yeah, that’s every Monday morning after the game. I don’t know. I think it just comes from having instincts, being able to see the ball, willing to make certain tackles and just hustling. I think that’s one of the parts of my game that has been with me since I started playing, just always being around the ball and hustling, playing hard.”
(Can you walk us through your free agency? It was obviously brief, but how many teams were involved? Why the Dolphins? Was this a team that was always on your radar? How did it come about?) – “There were a few other teams. I think it was just the best situation as far as being on a winning team, a team that I thought was trending upwards and a team that I felt like could use my services, playing middle linebacker. So I think all those things played a role in it. Obviously, the coaching staff that they have here and what they’re trying to get done. All those things were attractive to me so I think that’s pretty much why I chose here.”
(I don’t know how much you talk to Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald earlier on, but did he tell you anything about Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver?) – “Yeah, I actually talked with Anthony Weaver. Knowing that he came from Baltimore and they had a lot of success last year in the things that they were doing, it was obviously another reason why I came. Knowing his track record and him having the opportunity to be defensive coordinator here, I think it was just why not, honestly.”
(I got a couple of things to ask you and they pertain to your rapid return from the ACL injury. No. 1, what was the key to your rapid return? Was it good biological, was it just good genetics or was it more of a mental mindset? How did you return so quickly? Eight months, I believe it was.) – “It was just praying, honestly. It wasn’t nothing I did. I did the normal rehab protocol all week, but I think it was just God honestly healing in me in the manner that he did. I didn’t think I’d come back that fast, but God’s timing is the perfect timing, so I tell everybody the same thing. I just prayed about it and put my head down and God, he blessed it. I think that’s the only answer I can give you as far as how I made the comeback.”
(And you may or may not know that LB Bradley Chubb is recovering from an ACL injury. I’m not asking you to comment on his recovery. Do you think it’s possible that players can come back as quickly as you did and be as effective as you did or do you consider yourself an exception?) – “No, I don’t consider myself an exception. I just think it’s whatever God’s plan is for that person in particular. Honestly, I just think it is whatever God has planned out for that person. I don’t think it’s just me that can come back in the manner of time that I came back. It’s anybody.”
(I see you had like six games last year where you had double digits in tackles. Can you just touch on the physicality aspect mentally that you plan to bring to this team?) – “I just think that’s my game. It’s the way that I play. Physical. I play fast. I think what I do can be impactful for this team and also still grow. I’ve really only been in the league for three years. I’ve been in the league four years, but really just been a starter for three years, so I just feel like I’m going upwards, and so I’m excited for this opportunity here and the ability and the attributes that I bring to the game.”
(Going back to your rookie season, you played alongside Bobby Wagner. Just can you just touch on the relationship that you had with him and some things that you learned from him early on?) – “He was like a big brother to me and I think I got in the perfect situation to be able to learn under him and learn some routine things and how to prepare throughout the week to get myself ready to play an NFL game. And then all the off the field type of things. It was great learning under him and playing beside him.”
(What have you already learned about the responsibilities that the specific role that you’ll be playing in this scheme, like how do they align? What are some of the things you’ve learned about that?) – “To be honest, we haven’t went over that as much. I think there’s still some things they’re trying to figure out scheme-wise and personnel-wise, so I don’t have much information to give you on that right now.”
(And everybody likes a big hit. Sometimes they say they’re taking big hits out of the game, but I know you’ve had some big hits. What is that like for you where you’re able to execute a big hit?) – “I think it brings excitement to the game. You don’t always get that opportunity in a game because a lot of guys are not going to just let you flat out hit them like that, so you’ve got to catch guys when you can. But whenever those opportunities come, I think it’s exciting. It brings excitement to the game and I think it brings the juice up on the sidelines and the players that are on the field with you, and so it definitely brings a lot of excitement to the game and I think it’s why fans love football, honestly.”
(I saw a video showing you fired up on the Seahawks sideline one game last year, really giving it to your teammates. Can you just explain the kind of intensity you bring to the game for those unfamiliar with you?) – “I’m a passionate football player. I love the game. That’s all I’ve done my whole life, so when I go out and play, I’m trying to win. I think the clip that you’re talking about, I wasn’t yelling at anybody, I was just trying to pick our spirits up on the sideline. I think we were down by a couple touchdowns in that game, and I just felt it was necessary to gather everybody up and try to pick guys up. There are highs and lows in the game, so I think what y’all saw was just my passion and love for the game and how bad I want to win.”
(Also you were in the NFC West for a while with CB Jalen Ramsey. What are your thoughts on his game, getting to watch him in those matchups and now the opportunity to be in the same defense as him?) – “I think everybody knows about him. (He is) a great football player, also a man of faith from what I can see. I think he’s a tremendous football player that I’ve watched, played against and now get to play with, so I’m excited for this opportunity.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on being reunited with a former Texas Tech teammate WR Erik Ezukanma and your recollections of playing with him at Tech? And also I don’t know if you ever had any interactions during your time there with Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker at times, I guess, maybe when he went back on campus?) – “Yeah, it’ll be fun reuniting with him. It’s always good to have ex-teammates that you get to reunite with and also a fellow Texas Tech Red Raider with Wes Welker. So that’s pretty cool to be able to be in the same organization with these guys, knowing that we came from the same school.”
(How much are you enjoying the idea of going into a conference now where the guy to beat is yet another former college teammate? Of course, I’m talking about Patrick Mahomes.) – “Oh yeah, I’m excited for that opportunity as well. I played with him my first year there. It really was a big reason why I even went to Texas Tech. It’ll be fun to get to play against him and compete against him.”
(Tell me about how you became a Christian and what it means to you? How does it help you in football and in life?) – “I don’t know when I became (a Christian). I think it was just kind of how I was brought up, brought up in church. There’s a bible verse that says, ‘You bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he’s older, he won’t depart from it.’ I think I’m a living testimony of that, just being brought up in the church, so I think it’s always just been a part of me. I think it just goes hand in hand with everything I’m trying to do. I’m trying to be successful in my career, and that starts with God first, so I think everything flows through that.”
(You are a first-round pick. Obviously that’s a goal of any college player. You fought your way back from a serious ACL injury and still had a productive career and productive seasons as a starter. What is next for you in your career in terms of things that you want to accomplish?) – “I want to win a Super Bowl, and I want to help this team do that. Everything personally, I have my individual goals, but those things come secondary, and they will come as the team success comes. So I think my biggest goal is to win a Super Bowl.”
(What do you feel is the attribute that you bring most to a defense?) – “Explosiveness. I think I said in another interview that I personally think I’m one of the fastest guys in the NFL, not linebackers, but players period. I think my explosiveness is just a God-given ability that I feel is probably my best attribute.”
(There are a lot of fast people on this team. They might want to race you with that statement, though.) – “I’m ready, man.”
