I’ve spent my life working hard to make it out of every storm I’ve faced. My biggest drive is to be an example to others to never give up and keep pushing no matter what. 

I’m the oldest of five kids born to parents who were in the military. Hard work is embedded in my DNA. Being a military kid, I grew up in California, Florida, Virginia and Texas, so playing sports was one of the only consistencies I had in my childhood. No matter where or when we moved, I committed to going hard for that team.

Marcel Brooks is in his fifth season as a Horned Frog. He was a member of LSU’s national championship-winning team in 2019. Photo by Lily Margaret Greenway

By the time I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to give my all to play football in college. I leaned into every word and piece of advice from my coaches, and to this day, my coaches have had the greatest impact on my life. I like to say that my high school coach taught me how to “see” things through from start to finish, see a situation for what it is, learn to make the best of it and see opportunity in every moment in life. Then, my first college coach taught me that if I want something, I have to go get it. Something special is not just going to come to you or fall in your lap.

I started my collegiate career at LSU. I’ll always be grateful for the coaching I received there, but right before Covid hit, I decided to make a change and keep moving forward in my career. 

TCU was close to home, an important factor for me being in the middle of the pandemic. But moving to Fort Worth thrust me into a new culture I didn’t know or understand when there was already so much uncertainty in our world. To top it all off, I was fighting to recover from injury during my first year on the team.  

Marcel Brooks celebrates a sack in the 2024 opener against Stanford. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

My path started to change when Coach Dykes arrived on campus. He and the people he brought onto the staff are amazing. They are the ones who helped me get my career back together. Despite my injury, the coaches made sure I was always around the team and part of the program, and that gesture alone encouraged me. 

To this day, those months of being out taught me the greatest lesson — to be grateful for everything I have. 

Being a part of a team ever since I was a kid shaped who I am as a man. Being surrounded by a group of 100 different personalities and having to learn to connect with each of them is the ultimate growth exercise. My teammates have been by my side throughout the highs and lows of my career, the setback of injury and my journey to recover from it, personal wins and trials and every moment in between.

Because this team goes through so much together, it’s easy to involve each other in our lives, share perspectives and become leaders and examples in our own ways. The older guys have the opportunity to mentor the younger guys through the things they have already gone through, on and off the field.

Marcel Brooks with his dad, William (left), and uncle, Don (right). Courtesy of the Brooks family

I work to lead by example because I have had a lot of incredible examples in my life. From the time I started playing football in grade school to my eventual transfer to TCU, I cannot count the number of people who helped me grow up and showed me what it took to be admitted into and graduate from college.

At the top of that list are my siblings. Knowing they are always watching me and looking up to me is inspiring. But the most important pair of eyes I have on me belongs to my nine-month-old son, Marcel.

Becoming a dad has shifted my perspective on life. I have someone who needs me to be consistent. I have someone to protect. I have someone I need to inspire, and he inspires me to be better, too.

With a commitment to him, my team and my growth, I think this year is going to be wonderful. This season will be my new favorite memory at TCU. 

— As told to Lily Margaret Greenway

Editor’s Note: These responses have been edited for length and clarity.