DeCarlos Brooks didn’t get much recruiting attention from the college in his backyard when he was a standout at Chandler High School running back. Enter a new staff in Tempe that includes his previous head coach and his decision to transfer out of Cal, and Brooks is now committed to Arizona State.
“It feels great, honestly,” Brooks said following his decision. “It was all in God’s hands, and he has a way of reuniting people. But I’m finally here, and I’m ready to go. I went into the portal thinking that I just needed a team that would give me an opportunity to play and showcase the skills that I know I have. ASU obviously was on my mind, and I knew there were a lot of changes with the coaching staff. I didn’t know how everything was going to play out.
“But once I’ve seen certain people coming together, certain coaches I’ve known in the past that I played under. I was like, ‘Yeah, this, this might be my destination.’”
And one such person, in particular, is Shaun Aguano, who was Brooks’ head coach at Chandler High and is not only on staff with the Sun Devils but will also serve as Brooks’ position coach.
“Coach Aguano was definitely a big part in my decision,” Brooks admitted. “I like his honesty with just about everything. He’s gonna shoot me straight, no matter what the circumstances may be. I’ve known him since I was 15 years old in high school, and it’s just always been that way. I have always loved his culture and his idea of family. He’s always been like this since being the head coach at Chandler. I think he does carry that on to ASU, and I think he’s gonna be a great position coach for me. I can’t wait to get going and be coached by him.”
Cal running back DeCarlos Brooks joining Arizona State immediately bolsters a position group that saw its top two players leave the program. Leading rusher Xazavian Valladay exhausted his eligibility, and his backup sophomore Daniyel Ngata entered the transfer portal.
Brooks was a top 15 in-state prospect in the 2019 class. This past season for the Bears, he had 59 rushes for 250 yards averaging 4.2 yards.
“Coach Aguano knows all of my strengths and weaknesses,” Brooks remarked. “And my weaknesses have been fewer throughout the years just because he hadn’t seen me play since high school. I believe that he’s going to be able to teach me some things I might not have known, and I think I might show him some skills that he might not have known about me. So, the relationship we have will keep on growing as we get to know each other even more than we already have.
“Coming out of high school, I was really explosive. But a lot of people didn’t think I was fast, and I think my speed got a lot better. I’ve always been able to catch out of the backfield. Everybody looks at me as like just a downhill runner, but I can make people shake, and I can just do it all. When it comes to pre-snap reads, I’ve gotten a lot better with that. Everything in the college game has slowed down for me.”
Brooks indicated that since Cal felt like a second home that entering the portal was far from an easy decision. Yet, he felt it was necessary to spread his wings and seek out better opportunities for himself. On the other hand, coming back to a familiar area close to home, and having the acquaintance of several coaches and players in Tempe, does naturally negate some of the challenges this transition may have.
“It’s just a cherry on top,” Brooks stated regarding the familiar scene that awaits him in Tempe. “There’s no real reason we can’t all gel together, right? When you’re a part of a team, it doesn’t matter who you really know or who you don’t know; you’re gonna get to know everybody. But going into this (ASU), knowing a bunch of people on the team really helps me gel with them, and the chemistry will be a lot easier to get this thing rolling.”
Brooks commented that the group chat he has going with other local players joining the ranks at Arizona State, a group that includes current local players as well, has conveyed a high level of genuine excitement to be part of the Sun Devils. One player that the running back is undoubtedly looking forward to lining up next to again is his former Chandler teammate, quarterback Jacob Conover who was previously at BYU and has also pledged to ASU this week. Winning multiple state championships with the Wolves has naturally created only a stronger bond between the two.
“As soon as I heard Jacob entered the portal and then was coming to Arizona State to talk to the coaches, I was like, ‘we might have to make this shake,’” Brooks said,” we got that dynamic duo so let’s do it all over again. We definitely did talk after we had our conversations with coaches, and we were excited because it felt like we were both back in high school. This is such a blessing in itself. When we talked, there was a lot of energy, a good vibe, and I was just loving every minute of it.”
Brooks, who has two more years of eligibility left, said he was unclear as to when he will exactly arrive at ASU, as he’s working on a plan to complete his classes at Cal that are left for him to earn his degree. His plan is to be ready for ASU’s spring practice and acclimate to the team on and off the field as quickly as possible.
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