Brooks upbeat despite hard times at Nebraska

LINCOLN -- Chris Brooks hears the talk all the time, about how he has underachieved since coming to Nebraska as one of the heralded 2005 recruits.

He's so used to it, he cut off a reporter mid-sentence Saturday when questioned about how, four years later, his college career is yet to take off.

"I can stop you right there. It's not a disappointment," Brooks said. "I'm a happy man. It might seem like a disappointment, but I'm happy."

Don't confuse being happy with being content.

Brooks will go into his final season with a total of just three catches and one touchdown.

With top pass-catchers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson gone, Brooks and fellow senior Menelik Holt are considered the leaders of the receiver corps heading into fall.

Brooks knows he'll be expected, more than ever, to finally produce.

"You have to acknowledge it. It's plain as you can see," he said.

Fans have been waiting for Brooks to break out since he stepped on campus in the fall of 2005 and immediately began practicing with the No. 1 offense.

But a knee injury that required surgery before that year's season opener set him back, and he really hasn't done much since.

Brooks was among the biggest of the big-name recruits in the 2005 signing class that was ranked among the best in the country. A four-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, the St. Louis native accepted former coach Bill Callahan's scholarship offer over those from Florida, Missouri and Illinois.

Brooks appeared in four games in '05 but caught no passes. He sat out as a redshirt in '06, then caught one pass in the '07 opener against Nevada and was never seen again that season.

Last year he played in 11 games and caught a 2-yard pass against Oklahoma the week before scoring his first touchdown on a 25-yard pass against Kansas.

Brooks said he had difficulty making the transition from high school to major-college football. The speed of the game was more than he expected, and so was the learning curve when it came to Nebraska's offense. And then there were nagging injuries.

Another one cropped up Friday. He tweaked a ligament injury in his left foot, and he was wearing a walking boot while watching Saturday's practice from the sidelines.

"Up to then, I was feeling better than I ever have," Brooks said.

Holt said another player might have soured by now.

"I'm just glad he's not one of those guys with a negative attitude who tries to turn the team the wrong way," Holt said. "He's always kept a positive attitude even though he was highly touted coming out of high school and still hasn't gotten the playing time he's wanted."

Brooks said he's learned perspective in his years at Nebraska.

He's the father of a 5-year-old, Chris Brooks Jr., and he said it's more important for him to be a good role model for his son than for him to let himself wallow in self pity about his football life.

Brooks said he has set no individual goals for his senior season. He said he wants to do whatever it takes to make the team and the players around him better.

"It's football. This is what I love to do. It brings me happiness. I'm going to continue to do that until I can't anymore," he said. "I still have opportunities to come out and make plays. I guess I'm just waiting my turn, waiting for the right moment."

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