Kendell Brooks

Kendell Brooks (born March 3, 2000) is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He played college football at North Greenville and Michigan State and was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft.

Kendell Brooks
Personal information
Born: (2000-03-03) March 3, 2000
Swansea, South Carolina
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Swansea (SC)
College:North Greenville (2018–2020)
Michigan State (2021–2022)
Position:Safety
Undrafted:2023
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and education

Brooks was born on March 3, 2000, and grew up in Swansea, South Carolina.[1] He attended Swansea High School and was an all-state selection.[2] He began his college football career with the North Greenville Crusaders, posting 78 tackles (including 56 in 2019), two pass breakups and a fumble recovery while playing in 19 games across two seasons (2018–2019).[3]

The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and during that time Brooks worked for the family logging business, as a deliveryman at Pizza Hut, and as an employee at FedEx.[4] He entered the transfer portal after the 2020 season and thought about joining FCS program Mercer before the FBS Michigan State Spartans called him.[4] He accepted their offer, which included a scholarship.[5]

In his first season with Michigan State, Brooks played mainly on special teams and posted nine tackles.[6] He saw action on a total of 26 defensive snaps on the year.[6] Entering the second game of the 2022 season, he was given a chance to start after an injury to Xavier Henderson and recorded seven tackles and a forced fumble against Akron.[6] He ended up starting a total of 10 games in 2022, leading the team's secondary with 756 defensive snaps while tying for eighth in the FBS with three forced fumbles.[6] He additionally totaled 100 tackles, which placed second on the team and was fifth-best in the conference.[6]

Professional career

After going unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Brooks was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent, being given $80,000 guaranteed in his contract which was the second-most of their undrafted signees.[7] On August 29, 2023, Brooks was released by the Cardinals as part of final roster cuts before the start of the 2023 season.[8]

References
  1. "Kendell Brooks - Football". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  2. Wenzel, Matt (September 17, 2022). "Kendell Brooks took unusual and hard-working path to become starter at Michigan State". MLive.com. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  3. Solari, Chris (January 17, 2021). "Michigan State football adds D-II transfer Kendall Brooks, shifts start of winter workouts". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  4. Black, Ryan (September 11, 2022). "Supported by family logging business, Kendell Brooks kept chopping until he landed at Michigan State". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  5. Brewster, Andrew (January 17, 2021). "Division II cornerback Kendell Brooks transfers to Michigan State Football". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  6. Marchionte, Bo (February 22, 2023). "NFL Draft: Michigan State S Kendell Brooks is Poor Man's Jamal Adams". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  7. Root, Jess (May 15, 2023). "Cardinals UDFA S Kendell Brooks receives guaranteed $80K in 2023". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  8. "Cardinals Make Moves To Get To 53-Man Roster". AZCardinals.com. August 29, 2023.
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