"Mountain Of A Man"

[WishBone]

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables boasted on National Signing Day that 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive line newcomer Eugene Brooks had lost half-a-hundred pounds.

“Eugene Brooks from the state of California, just a real natural powerful guard. Just great girth and size. Just really nimble and he’s got a great story about his development,” Venables said. “He’s lost 50 pounds in the last couple of years and he’s still a mountain of a man to really create a lot of opportunity for himself. He’s got a great testimony.”

Estimates for Brooks' reported weight loss range from 50 to 60 pounds leading up to his senior year. Before he trimmed down, he was "dominant," said 247's Gregg Biggins, and won several offensive line MVPs at camps he attended. Since his "incredible" transformation, it seems Brooks has retained his strength while adding speed.

Brooks was a 4-star prospect at Sierra Canyon High School (CA). He was ranked within 247Sports’ top 150 players in the 2024 class, the No. 14 player in California and No. 5 interior lineman nationally. He was an Under Armour All-America selection.

Oklahoma’s 2024 signing class ranked 11th nationally. The Sooners brought in five total offensive linemen, four of which have enrolled for the spring. Brooks is one of those, along with Edmond Santa Fe (OK) alum Josh Aisosa, a 3-star interior lineman; Daniel Akinkunmi, an international tackle prospect from the NFL Academy in London; and Isaiah Autry-Dent, a 3-star tackle from Mississippi.

“Really, you know, feel great about the lines of scrimmage. We have, when it’s all said and done with a few of the portal additions, we’ll have, give or take, 16 offensive and defensive lineman that will help us again reinforce the trenches where the game’s won or lost,” Venables said.

The Sooners offensive line had more turnover from the 2023 season than any other group on the field. Brooks has heard the concerns surrounding the unit.

“Really, I hear them, but as a group, being a player in our group, we know what we have to do,” Brooks said during spring media day. “We’re coming in every day working, keeping our mind straight, keeping our head on a swivel and just coming in grinding every day, and we know what our destination is this season.”

A local reporter asked, “so, the O-Line’s going to be just fine?”

“Yes sir,” Brooks responded.

A massive prospect, Brooks pairs unique lateral movement and agility with power and frame. He was a 2023 CIF Southern Section Division IV champion in the shot put title his junior year with a throw of 55 feet, 6 inches. In his throwing career, he went 56-0 in the shot put and 127-1 in discus.

That power and explosiveness will give Brooks a chance to get playing time in an offensive line room where everyone is still getting familiar with one another.

“The offensive line, as a unit, we’re all talking to each other, we’re all coming up as leaders, you know, keeping each other pushed, keeping each other motivated for this opportunity,” Brooks said. “I’m very excited, you know? As a unit, as a team, we’re going to come in and show you guys what we’re capable of.”

In the end, Brooks' recruitment came down to OU and Texas. The opportunity to play for Oklahoma's 12th-year offensive line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh, was too great to pass up for Brooks as he picked the Sooners on July 25. Bedenbaugh has twice been named a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant coach. For five straight years from 2016-20, an OU player won Big 12 lineman of the year. In total, Bedenbaugh has helped 10 Sooners offensive linemen get drafted.

“He’s really just passionate about the game, you know, he really loves the game, and just being able to come in early and just be able to be coached by him is a blessing,” Brooks said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to come in and be coached by him.”

Oklahoma was the only team in the country that produced a top-10 rushing offense and a top-10 passing offense over the past decade. The Sooners also rank first nationally in total offense with 509.4 yards per game in that span.

Playing in the SEC wasn’t necessarily a factor in Brooks’ recruiting, but it was a factor.

“Really just how the team and everybody was more welcoming and it’s like a family, that was the reason why I committed,” Brooks said. “But then going to the SEC was like a big plus. That added onto it.”