Maryland football defensive back Antoine Brooks waited in the hospital with his father, Antoine Brooks Sr., on Oct. 12, 2015, reliving the sequence that ended his promising DuVal High School career earlier that evening.
Brooks, playing quarterback, took a hit from a Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School defensive lineman after releasing a second-quarter pass. He shattered his wrist trying to prevent his fall and suffered a gruesome ankle fracture that left a bone sticking out of his sock.
The season-ending injury halted the work he put in over the previous three and half seasons, when he used highlight-reel plays on both sides of the ball to build a local following. He’d fielded offers from multiple Division I schools.
So as he laid helpless on the field — surrounded by coaches, teammates and family members — Brooks told his hyperventilating father he wanted to quit football. Antoine Brooks Sr. agreed, not wanting to see his son endure a similar injury in the future.
At the hospital, however, Antoine Brooks realized he couldn’t give up his dream of competing in college.
“I think I’ll just play defense,” Brooks said to his father.
Click here to read more about how Antoine Brooks became an impact player for Maryland football.
