Honors
- All-CAA: 2024 (2nd team)
- CAA Defensive Player of the Week: 10/19/24
- FedEx FCS National Defensive Player of the Week: 10/19/24
- All-ACC Academic Team: 2023
Campbell
2024: Earned All-CAA second-team honors in 2024 for coach Braxton Harris in his lone season at Campbell, registering a school-record 118 total tackles and making 12 starts ... Finished campaign with 55 solo stops, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks (12 yards), an interception and 6 passes defended ... Ranked second in the CAA in total tackles and 13th nationally in FCS, while leading the conference in fumble recoveries with (3) ... Named CAA Defensive Player of the Week and FedEx FCS National Player of the Week after boasting 19 total stops -- the second-highest total in program history -- at No. 15 William & Mary (10/19/24) with a season-high 9 solos, 3.0 TFLs and a sack ... Posted 13 stops in season finale vs. Towson (11/23/24) with 6 solos ... Also had a dozen stops at No. 17 Western Carolina (9/7/24) in securing Campbell’s first-ever win over a ranked foe ... Racked up 12 more tackles at Delaware (11/16/24) ... Also recognized on the Phil Steele second-team all-conference list at season’s end.
North Carolina
Played in 32 career games for coach Mack Brown at North Carolina from 2020-23 ...
2023: Appeared in all 13 games for an 8-5 UNC squad, primarily on special teams ... Had a solo tackle and a fumble recovery against Campbell (11/4/23) for his only stop of the year ... Earned All-ACC Academic Team honors ...
2022: Appeared in all 14 games for a 9-5 Tar Heels team, primarily on special teams, posting 4 tackles on the season ... Notched 3 total tackles, including 2 solos, vs. Oregon (12/28/22) in the Holiday Bowl ... Also had an assisted tackle vs. Pitt (10/29/22) ...
2021: Appeared in 4 games on special teams for a 6-7 squad ... Saw action at Virginia Tech (9/3/21), vs. Duke (10/2/21), at Pitt (11/11/21) and at NC State (11/26/21) to maintain redshirt season ...
2020: Made his collegiate debut vs. Western Carolina (12/5/20) in his sole appearance of COVID season ... Tar Heels were 8-4.
High School
Played on both sides of the ball for coach Steven Wright at Cardinal Gibbons High in North Carolina, primarily at defensive end/linebacker and fullback ... As a senior (2018), he had 69 tackles, 44, solos, 35.0 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks and 7 fumble recoveries ... Had 74 tackles, 58 solos, 27.5 TFLs and 24.0 sacks during his junior campaign ... Earned CAP-7 Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior ... Accounted for 143 career tackles, 62.5 TFLs, 42.5 sacks, 10 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles, an interception and 10 touchdowns ... Won back-to-back state championships in wrestling at the 220-pound weight class and was the 2019 CAP-7 Wrestler of the Year ... Finished prep wrestling career with a 117-6 record .... Also won a state championship in lacrosse.
Personal
Jalen Bernard Brooks was born 2/19/01 in Gastonia, N.C. ... Son of Jerry and Theresa Brooks of Knightdale, N.C. ... Has a sister, Jada ... Father wrestled at Campbell University (1991-95), finishing 7th at NCAA Nationals and is in the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame ... Currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Finance.
