Alcorn State University offensive lineman Deonte Brooks has played through injuries before.

He played with a broken ankle during his junior year of high school and competed with a partially torn knee ligament in the 2016 SWAC Championship against Grambling State. That’s the name of the game for Brooks though, as offensive lineman often play with pain.

Yet in spring 2017, Brooks suffered the first injury he couldn’t endure.

“It was a freak accident,” said offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Ryan Stanchek. “It wasn’t necessarily a contact play. The best description is the injury was a fluke.

“It wasn’t fun to see.”

During one of Alcorn’s spring practices in 2017, the offense called a run play in which Brooks had to pull-block a linebacker.

So he did. Yet when he planted to hit his target, Brooks’ 2017 season disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“I broke my kneecap and completely ruptured my patellar tendon,” Brooks said. “I basically landed wrong on the play.”

Stanchek said Brooks would be near the top of his list when it comes to passion. Stanchek said Brooks lives football.

Brooks comes in to study film whenever he can. He also stays on campus the entire offseason to ensure he is getting stronger for the upcoming year.

“(Brooks) is one of the few players that do that,” Stanchek said.

Stanchek considers Brooks to be one of, if not the Braves’ best linemen. Heading into the 2017 season, Stanchek had high hopes for the duo of Brooks and former Brave Timothy Gardner anchoring the left side of the line.

Losing Brooks for an entire season was huge, but the loss didn’t compare to Brooks sitting and watching a game he has loved since a young age.

“It’s hard for any 19- to 20-year-old man to go through,” Stanchek said. “ But especially on Brooks, who is so passionate about football.”

The void left by not playing football daily didn’t hit Brooks until the second week after his surgery he had immediately after his injury. That week, whenever he tried to get out of bed on his own, Brooks couldn’t.

He was so accustomed to fighting through pain, that when he couldn’t get out of bed by himself, he felt broken.

“It was hard,” Brooks said. “It made me feel slightly depressed.”

Brooks then realized he could either let this injury defeat him or make him stronger. He chose to make sure it was the latter.

Any time he was bedridden, Brooks was watching and studying football. He was taking notes on where he could improve his game.

Then in rehab, Brooks did a lot of quad workouts to replenish strength. After his rehab sessions were done, the 6-foot-4 lineman would go out to practice and help with drills.

“I helped coach on the sidelines,” Brooks said. “I helped my teammates with motivation and technique. Whenever I saw them do something wrong, I would tell them and gave them tips to help correct it. I was like an eye in the sky.”

Although Brooks was assisting his team, he still wanted to be out on the field.

“During practices, he would try to work with the other guys while he was still limping,” Stanchek said. “You had to get the trainers to tell him he couldn’t be out there sometimes.”

While Brooks progressed well after his surgery, he suffered a setback and had to get a corrective operation.

Although Brooks would never wish to go through an injury like this again, he said it benefited him. The time off the field allowed Brooks to become more mentally tough. It allowed him to realize what he needed to do to capture his dreams.

“I feel like I’m going to come back better,” Brooks said. “I have been able to aget stronger than I was before the injury. I don’t have to deal with the pre-injury I have been playing on for the past year.”

Brooks said his hope this year is to record 20 knockdowns per game. If he does that, he believes he can obtain his ultimate goal, which is to be an All-American.

Stanchek said Brooks could be an All-American because he is the meanest offensive lineman in all of the FCS. Yet, Stanchek doesn’t know where Brooks is going to line up along the line.

“He can play at guard and I know he can play tackle,” Stanchek said. “ The best five guys are going to play. So it is up to the other guys on the line. He will probably be on the left side. But just really depends on the other guys. I would really like to use him at left guard. But I’m mostly excited to see what he can do when he is completely healthy.”

Brooks is happy that he is 100 percent now. He is also glad he went through this experience.

The lineman said it showed him how to survive without football and made him realize he could live without it. More importantly, however, it taught him an important life lesson.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Brooks said.