Tennessee’s fifth-year senior safety, who made a few of the Vols’ biggest plays this season, reflects on his path from walk-on to veteran starter
Will Brooks arrived at Tennessee in 2020 as a walk-on safety and gradually made a name for himself — first on special teams, then on defense. He overcame the odds that are often stacked against non-scholarship players to develop into a full-time starter as a fifth-year senior, and he ultimately became more than that.
Brooks started all 13 of the Vols’ games this season and ended up making a few of their biggest plays on the way to their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. He reflected on his journey Sunday in a post on his X account in which he said goodbye to Tennessee.
“Thank you Tennessee for an incredible 5 years,” Brooks wrote. “This journey I have been on has been unforgettable. The friendships and memories I have made will stay with me for a lifetime. Thanks to my family, friends, coaches, and teammates for believing in me. Forever grateful to be a VFL.”
The 6-foot-1, 206-pound Brooks returned an interception 85 yards for a second-quarter touchdown against N.C. State that helped the Vols turn a close game into a 51-10 rout of the Wolfpack on Sept. 7. He also made the game-clinching interception that helped Tennessee put the finishing touches on a 24-17 win Oct. 19 against rival Alabama.
Two weeks later, he returned another interception 67 yards to set up a late third-quarter touchdown that allowed the Vols to extend their lead over Kentucky on the way to a 28-18 victory. And he had a tip-drill interception in the back of the end zone during Tennessee’s loss Dec. 21 at Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff that prevented the Buckeyes from adding to a 21-0 lead during their 42-17 win.
Brooks finished the season with 59 tackles, including four tackles for loss and a half-sack, along with four interceptions and five pass breakups. He ended up with 82 career tackles and made 14 starts during his final two years with the Vols after first making a name for himself as a special-teams regular in 2022.
The former Vestavia Hills (Ala.) High School standout is likely to hear plenty about his interception against Alabama for years to come. He grew up liking Auburn, and he told the Knoxville Quarterback Club in October that he has “always hated Alabama my entire life.”
Vanderbilt was the only other SEC program to offer Brooks a preferred walk-on spot coming out of high school, according to Rocky Top Insider. Brooks told the Knoxville Quarterback Club that he “didn’t really have any offers” before jumping on his opportunity at Tennessee in 2020, during former Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt‘s tenure.
“I mean, I wasn’t heavily recruited at all,” Brooks said in October, “so Tennessee kind of brought me in, and it’s just been an amazing experience to be here.”
Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez said in November on the Vol Network’s “Vol Calls” radio that Brooks’ path from preferred walk-on to full-time starter was “a tremendous story.” But Martinez added that Brooks had worked diligently “since the day we got here in January of ’21” to put himself in position to play.
“In our offseason program, we start doing drills on special teams with Coach (Mike) Ekeler and the staff, and that’s the best way to find out space kind of plays,” Martinez said at the time. “How athletic and transferable skills does a guy have? He shined from the beginning in those drills before spring in ’21, and he got on the field that first year as a walk-on on special teams. And he was one of the guys you were always constantly mentioning. …
“And he’s so smart. He’s really smart. He’s got great football instincts since Day One. No one can beat him in some of the tests that we have, that we do — written tests. I do a thing called Cahoot where you have to answer something within 5 seconds. The questions that go on the board, no one’s been able to beat him in the years that we’ve been here. And he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t. He just lives on the result, and so I’m not surprised. If anything, our staff is excited for him.
“And he’s a great example for everybody else that, given the opportunity — and you will get your opportunity — it’s what you do with it when you get it. Are you ready? Will you prepare? And he’s always been ready. He’s always been prepared. And those players, his teammates, love him and they can see it. Not only that (he makes plays), but they know he’s the same dude. … And he’s a terrific player, man, and he’s obviously been great for us.”