9/2/2021 football Edit

Brooks ready for Tulsa's opener against UC Davis

Tulsa RB Shamari Brooks returns after missing last season due to a knee injury. (USATSI)

Larry Lewis

ITS Senior Writer

The frustration of a fluke knee injury that forced Shamari Brooks to miss last year's season opener and the entire 2020 season is about to end.

Brooks will finally get his chance to have his opener at 6:30 pm on Thursday night when Tulsa faces UC Davis at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

It is a bit of a mystery what happened to Brooks' knee just days before Tulsa was set to play at OSU. Whatever happened, it did result in a torn ACL.

"I truly don't even remember, honestly. I never went back to watch the film," Brooks said of how he injured his knee. "But I believe it was a cut, or I just landed wrong. Non contact.

"I didn't think it was anything. I got right back up and kept running. I thought it was hyper-extended maybe. I didn't think it was that serious."

Brooks could still run leading up to the reconstructive surgery a couple of weeks later. But it wasn't like the really old days when they would just throw the players back in without surgery.

Back with a fully healthy knee, Brooks is ready to show what he can do.

"I've got to get the mental part down, which I'm pretty much there," Brooks said of of his recovery. "I'm confident in doing pretty much everything."

The mental aspect of recovering from a knee injury, especially for a running back, can be the toughest part. Trusting the knee enough to plant and do everything just as before.

Brooks is a tough customer, who has no subtlety at all in his running style. If there is a choice between running by a defender or running one over, it's not a choice for Brooks.

"Definitely running somebody over is more fun. Hearing the ooh's and the ah's," Brooks said.

The former Tulsa Union star is back for a senior year reboot where he needs 1,218 yards to surpass former Tulsa Central star D'Angelo Brewer for the all-time TU rushing mark. Brooks currently is fifth in Golden Hurricane history with 2,700 yards.

Coming off a 6-3 season where Tulsa went undefeated in regular season conference play and was ranked for much of the season, Tulsa returns most of its players and is expecting to be even better this year.

Losing college football's national defensive player of the year Zaven Collins to the Arizona Cardinals won't help, but Tulsa is otherwise loaded.

Davis Brin's starting debut at quarterback is eagerly awaited after his unbelievable debut off the bench to lead Tulsa to a 30-24 double overtime win over Tulane the last time Tulsa played at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery is entering his seventh season as Tulsa coach, and is looking to take his fourth team to a bowl game. But more importantly, he has his sights on much more than just a bowl game. He knows his team is loaded.

But of course, Montgomery isn't one to make bold predictions. He is just glad his team is playing.

"I'm really excited. Game week is here," Montgomery said. "Guys are excited, coaches are excited. You have to keep building. It is a special time of the year."

UC Davis (3-2 in 2020) shouldn't be a problem despite the Aggies returning almost everybody. They are a FCS team that plays in the Big Sky and went 5-7 in 2019. The Golden Hurricane should dispatch this team without much trouble, regardless of it being the first game of the season.

The most interesting thing about UC Davis is its head coach, Dan Hawkins. Yes, that Dan Hawkins - the former Boise State and Colorado coach. Another interesting thing is that the Aggies played their last game in April, as their Division opted out of fall football in order to play last spring due to Covid trepidations.

There will be a full seating capacity this season at H.A. Chapman. It is time for the Golden Hurricane to show what it can do.