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From Tully Stadium to CenturyLink Field: Recent grad Jordyn Brooks

 

Former Stratford High linebacker Jordyn Brooks made history recently when he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks during the first round of the NFL Draft. Stratford Oracle sports reporter Jack Weatherly interviewed middle and high school coaches for this deep look back on football history at Stratford and SBISD. (Read story below)

 

From Stratford Spartan to first round NFL Pick
Recent Grad Jordyn Brooks selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft

By Jack Weatherly
Sports Reporter, The Stratford Oracle

It’s a moment that boys of all ages dream about. During the first-ever virtual NFL Draft, ex-Spartan varsity football and Texas Tech player Jordyn Brooks heard the life-changing sentence that set aside any draft anxiety or jitters.

Here’s what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said: “With the 27th pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jordyn Brooks, Linebacker, Texas Tech.” 

With that April 24 announcement, Brooks became the first NFL Draft first-round pick from Stratford High since quarterback Andrew Luck went No. 1 overall back in 2012.

Brooks has made Stratford America and Spring Branch ISD proud with his first-round selection status, many said, and they wish him success in his future NFL career.

"It means so much to not only the Stratford football program, but also the community, to see a local kid like Jordyn be able to showcase his talents at the next levels of football and make it to the pros,” current Stratford High School football Coach Todd Rankin said.  “We are all so proud of him, and we know he will not only represent the Seahawks and Red Raiders well, but Stratford America as well.”
  
An extremely gifted athlete, Brooks was an equally great teammate.
  
“He had a strong work ethic, was a good leader, and a great teammate,” former Stratford varsity football Coach Eliot Allen said. “Jordyn was a pretty quiet guy most of the time, but when he was around his teammates he was often a prankster. His teammates really enjoyed him as a person.”

Allen is now athletic director and football coach at Brenham High School.

Spring Forest Middle School Coach James Harvey echoed Allen’s comments that Brooks was a great teammate not only at Stratford, but while playing for Spring Forest as well.  

“Jordyn was also a great attitude guy, always laughing and cracking jokes to raise the spirits of those around him,” Harvey said.

All of that work and drive to succeed first began on the fields at Spring Forest Middle School, where he played many positions.  He was the “starting defensive end who sometimes would drop back to linebacker in an even front,” Harvey said.  “He was also our backup running back behind the also very talented Rakeem Boyd, who is currently playing at Arkansas.”
  
Harvey saw the sheer athleticism and skill pouring out of Brooks onto the field.

“During his 7th grade year, we were playing Memorial Middle School, and they had a good team and a strong running game,” Harvey said. “They were trying to beat us up with the run, but Jordyn kept sealing the edge, and almost single handedly won us the game that day by shutting down the run. He was a beast on defense for us both years, and someone we could always count on.”
 
His time at Spring Forest ended in back-to-back district championships during his seventh and eighth grade seasons. If that wasn’t enough, Brooks also played basketball and ran track. His success from the gridiron shifted seamlessly to the court and track. 

Brooks helped to lead the Bobcats to a basketball district championship in eighth grade, and he held the school record in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles for many years at Spring Forest Middle.

As he made the jump from middle school to high school, the school buildings changed, but his success on the field did not.

During three years on the Stratford Varsity football team, Brooks “progressively got better, and grew more confident as a player, the longer he played,” Coach Allen said. The numbers back it up.

As a sophomore, Brooks played in 10 games and amassed 32 tackles, 25 of them solo.  In an expanded role as a junior, Brooks accumulated 44 total tackles helping the Spartans to a state playoff berth with an 8-4 overall record and an undefeated 7-0 district mark.

By the time the 2015 football season rolled around, Jordyn was “a very dominant player his senior year at SHS,” Allen said.  With his size, strength and speed, Brooks covered sideline to sideline and was a constant member of an opponent’s backfield, breaking up plays, making game-saving, hard-hitting tackles while also collecting fumbles and intercepting passes.

His all-around game with 63 tackles (43 solo), one sack, four pass deflections and six tackles for loss helped Stratford to another perfect 7-0 district record and 10-2 overall record plus a run into the state playoffs
  
Brooks had many eye-opening moments during his high school football career, but a few special ones stick out in Coach Allen’s memory.

“Most importantly, he was a very respectful kid who worked hard and was a good teammate.  He had a long fumble return for a touchdown against Memorial that was a game changer,” Allen said.  “He had a similar return against Elsik in a highly touted game.  There was also an interception against Tomball Memorial where he jumped so high it was almost unbelievable.”

The talent and numbers that the Stratford linebacker was putting up did not go unnoticed, either.  Brooks was a two-time District 19-5A first team selection, an All-Greater Houston Chronicle honorable mention pick, and co-winner recipient of the H.M. Landrum Award in 2015 as the best defensive back in SBISD.
  
All these accolades led Jordyn to become a three-star recruit who was ranked as the nation’s 57th best linebacker, and the 9th best linebacker in the state of Texas by Scout.com, a football scouting and review service. 

Allen believes Brooks was overlooked by recruiters out of high school, but that may have only fueled Brooks’ drive and determination at the college level.

“I honestly believe Jordyn was a little under recruited coming out of high school considering the physical ability he possessed, but I think he was excited and grateful for the opportunity to play at Texas Tech,” Allen said during a recent interview.  “I also think he sort of carried a chip on his shoulder about all of the schools who may not have given him the opportunity, which probably served as some motivation for him as a college player.”
  
Brooks dream to play college football came true on Feb. 3, 2016, as he signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Texas Tech University, choosing Texas Tech over the University of Houston, Iowa State and Arkansas among others.
 
His success continued on into the college level, and he continued to wreak havoc in opponent’s backfields, having 80 or more tackles in each of his first three years at Texas Tech, and leading the Red Raiders in tackles both his freshman and junior seasons.  

As a college senior, much like in high school, Jordyn was a force and compiled one of the best seasons in Texas Tech school history.  Jordyn not only led the team with 108 tackles, including 20 for loss, but led the entire Big 12 Conference in tackles for loss.
 

One game in particular on Oct. 5, 2019 against Oklahoma State University stands out.  The talent, physical gifts and leadership seen by his former coaches all came together in an absolute masterful performance.

In an electric atmosphere in Lubbock, Brooks amassed 19 tackles, shedding blockers with his strength but bursting through the offensive line with his speed to also collect four tackles for loss and three sacks.  His career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks, and many other countless stops in “crunch time” led Texas Tech to a hard-fought ranked win.

“Tremendous performance by Jordyn Brooks.  Individually, he was very, very heroic with all of the TFLs (tackles for loss) and sacks he had.  I thought he single-handedly propelled our defense,” said Texas Tech head Coach Matt Wells on Brooks’ performance against Oklahoma State.
His historic season gained recognition as he was named to the second team All-American, first team All-Big 12 Honors, and one of six finalists for the prestigious Butkus Award, presented to the nation’s top linebacker.

After the NFL Scouting Combine, a weeklong player showcase, came the nervous jitters waiting for his name to be called during the family watch party last Friday ended in joy with the Seattle Seahawks selecting him in the first round, 27th pick overall.  

The former Stratford Spartan, through his hard work and talent, had become a first-round NFL Draft pick.
  
“We are very excited for Jordyn,” Coach Allen said.  
 
“The Spring Forest coaches are beyond proud of Jordyn and wish him nothing but the best in his future NFL career and life,” Coach Harvey said.