Terrance Brooks, CB
At the moment, it looks like the favorite to win the starting job at the field corner position upon the departure of senior D’Shawn Jamison is rising sophomore Terrance Brooks.
Field corner will be one of the biggest position battles to watch for Texas throughout the offseason. Brooks is going to have to contend with the likes of the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons redshirt sophomore transfer cornerback Gavin Holmes and the incoming freshman corner Malik Muhammad in camp in this position battle heading into the 2023 season.
Moreover, one of the biggest reasons why I believe that Brooks has a leg up to win the starting job at the field corner spot coming out of camp is that he already supplanted Jamison in terms of who got the most defensive snaps at the position in the last four games of the season.
This was such a good rep from true freshman corner Terrance Brooks even though he couldn’t haul in the INT
— Hudson Standish (@247Hudson) December 30, 2022
Former Little Elm / Plano JP2 standout has been tested all night against one of the nation’s best offenses #HookEm | @Horns247 pic.twitter.com/uQBLJz2Ylk
Brooks played well when given the increased workload at field corner down the stretch in 2022. In the last two games, he registered three pass breakups while not missing a single tackle on pass plays.
Terrance Brooks is currently tied with UW CB Mishael Powell for the most forced incompletions among P5 corners in a bowl game this postseason, with 3 a piece. pic.twitter.com/MpxHGctDRC
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) December 30, 2022
The game where Brooks really shined was in the Alamo Bowl against the Washington Huskies. He registered two pass breakups and just 27 receiving yards on five targets in pass coverage. Among Big 12 corners that were targeted at least five times in pass coverage during the postseason, Brooks ranked in the top five for the lowest QBR allowed.
All in all, Brooks definitely has the natural coverage skills and maturity in his game to be ready to step up into a full-time starting role at the cornerback position in 2023. I think the field corner job will be his to lose heading into the 2023 regular season. But that will come with a short leash as there are some other talented and capable corners in this group including the aforementioned Holmes and Muhammad.