Michael Antonio Brooks (born March 12, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

. He also was a member of the Baltimore CFLers and

Memphis Mad Dogs The Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 CFL season, 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to CFL USA, expand the CFL into the United States. They played at Liberty ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

Early life

Brooks attended

Walter Hines Page High School Walter Hines Page Senior High School (commonly referred to as Page High School or simply Page) is a four-year public high school located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. History Walter Hines Page Senior High School opened its doors ...

, where he was an All-State

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He was a teammate of future NFL players

Haywood Jeffires Haywood Franklin Jeffires (pronounced "Jeffries"; born December 12, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He was selected by the Houston Oilers in t ...

and

Todd Ellis Todd Ellis may refer to: * Todd Ellis (American football) (1967), an American football quarterback * Todd Ellis (motorcyclist) (1994), an English sidecar racer * Todd Ellis Kessler, an American television producer and writer. See also * Todd (giv ...

, while helping his team win three straight state championships. He won the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

state championship as a senior.

College career

Brooks accepted a football scholarship from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. He was an

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

as a freshman. The next year, he was moved to

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

and became a starter. As a junior, he registered 105 tackles (led the team) and at the time tied for second best in school history with 14 passes defensed. He had 10 tackles against the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. As a senior, he posted 82 tackles (second on the team), 2 interceptions and 7 passes defensed. In the 1988 Peach Bowl, he received defensive MVP honors after making a bowl record 3 interceptions (he also had 8 passes defensed) and helping N.C. State win 28-23. He finished his college career with 277 tackles, 8 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 30 passes defensed (tied for second in school history). He also was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

sprinter, helping the school win three straight ACC outdoor track titles.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Brooks was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

after the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

in May. He was waived on September 3 and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

, where he spent the first 14 weeks of the season, before being promoted to the active roster for the last 2 contests. He only played in the season finale against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He was released on September 3,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. On September 26, 1990, he was re-signed for depth purposes because of injuries. He was released on October 11.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 7,

, he was signed to the

. On December 10, he was promoted to active roster to play because of injuries, posting 2

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. On August 20,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

after tearing his left

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

Denver Broncos

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

. He was cut on August 24.

Baltimore CFLers

On May 21,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he signed with the Baltimore CFLers of the

. He was a part of the franchise's inaugural season, while helping his team reach the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

(first American-based CFL team to achieve this goal) and receiving Eastern All-Star honors. He was released in June

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Memphis Mad Dogs

On July 31,

, he signed with the

of the

. He originally was placed on the practice roster, but later played in three regular season games. His main role was on the special teams, where he made seven tackles. On September 16, he was released after refusing to accept a new contract with a reduced salary.

References

External links

They came to play: from the NFL to CFL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Michael 1967 births Living people Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina American football safeties NC State Wolfpack football players NC State Wolfpack men's track and field athletes San Diego Chargers players Dallas Cowboys players Baltimore Stallions players Memphis Mad Dogs players