I caught up with Ahmad Brooks the other day. The former UVa. All-American linebacker has kept a pretty low profile since rumors began swirling last winter about him being thrown out of Virginia. Brooks says he had been talking with coach Al Groh and athletic director Craig Littlepage about being allowed back into the program, and he believed he had a good shot. Then in late March, Brooks logged on to ESPN.com and learned the school had dismissed him.
The reason, he was later told, was due to the cumulative effect of his irresponsibility. He had missed too many classes and workout sessions. Liberty and Hampton, a pair of local I-AA schools, had called, but Brooks wasn't interested in transferring. He was convinced that whatever issues NFL scouts had, he would have to face at some point.
It seemed to be quite the fall for a guy many had once projected as a top-10 draft pick. After all, Brooks, the son of former Redskins D-lineman Perry Brooks, was a guy scouts had been marveling at for a few years. Back in 2004, despite weighing 260 pounds, he actually doubled as a returnman. As a linebacker, he notched eight sacks and made 90 tackles. He could've turned pro then, but didn't. Brooks didn't feel 100 percent healthy. He had a cyst behind his right knee, which was removed last March and forced him to miss the first three games of the 2005 season. When Brooks returned, he was sluggish and way out of shape. He sat out the Cavaliers' bowl game because of a sore back. Rumors began to swirl that Brooks was about to get booted from the program. The rumors ranged from a supposed positive marijuana test (in 2003, Brooks pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor marijuana charge and spent six months on probation) to him blowing off workouts.
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Bruce Feldman
