Early in Mack Brown’s presser on Monday, he made the announcement that the Tar Heels will bring back one of the guys who was expected to be one of the offensive leaders for this team prior to a preseason injury in 2023.
Graduate running back British Brooks will return to the team next season for what will be his seventh season in Chapel Hill. Brooks was slated to be the team’s starter at running back before he suffered a season-ending lower body injury in a scrimmage in mid-August.
Brooks had a tremendous finish to the 2021 season, running for 285 yards and three touchdowns in the final three games of the season. Currently, he has carried the ball 65 times for 461 yards and five touchdowns in his first six years at Carolina. He has been an extremely valuable part of the special teams unit since 2018, playing 675 snaps and registering 16 total tackles.
As of right now, he will have a chance to earn reps at running back once again when he returns. The unit hasn’t been bad in his absence, but no one has really been able to get a grip on the job full time. Caleb Hood and Omarion Hampton have seemed to separate themselves from everyone else, but they still are lacking some consistency at this point. At the least, Brooks will be a significant part of this Tar Heel special teams unit next year.