Curtis Brooks, one of three Cincinnati Bearcats players who was in the program before Luke Fickell became head coach, smiled and shook his head when he heard the question.
When he chose to return for his sixth season, did he expect to be playing in the College Football Playoff?
“Definitely not,” the 6-foot-2, 285-pound defensive tackle said. “Just wanted to come back, repeat as AAC champions and then go out and have a great year. This, right here, is special. Definitely special.”
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Brooks, a Danville, Virginia native, was on the ground floor before the Bearcats ascended into a team that crashed the College Football Playoff. He redshirted in 2016 during Tommy Tuberville’s final season, played the next four years and then opted to play one final season after players were granted an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
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He’s certainly made the most of his last dance. Playing alongside star defensive end Myjai Sanders, Brooks leads the team with 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss while ranking sixth in total tackles (50).
“Just really focusing in and honing my craft, especially on third down,” Brooks said. “I think that’s the biggest growth where my game has been in this recent year. I think I’ve always been a pretty good run stopper, block shedder, but this year I really focused on the pass rush and the little things. Working with Myjai after practice, putting those hours in, it really paid off.”
Brooks, who earned his bachelor’s degree and went through Senior Night ceremonies in 2020, surprised some people when he decided to come back for a sixth season.
Now, he’s playing like a guy who refuses to let the season end. He had two sacks against SMU. He had seven tackles against East Carolina. Then he had 1.5 sacks in the AAC Championship game against Houston with both stops on third downs.
“It was a combination of things,” Brooks said about his decision to return. “Last year, I didn’t have the year I wanted to. I had a high-ankle sprain. I missed, like, three or four games. Then I tore my meniscus late in the season, I just wanted to come back and lay it on the line one more time.”
When fans stormed the Nippert Stadium field after defeating Houston and cementing their spot in the College Football Playoff, Brooks was in the middle and jumping up and down with fans.
“I don’t think it really settled in, but honestly, it kind of feels a little overdue because I came back an extra year,” he said. “This is exactly what I wanted to happen. I’m blessed that it did.”
The Bearcats are a two-touchdown underdog for their matchup against top-ranked Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, but it’s a confident group. It’s beneficial from the mental part of it, Brooks said, that the Bearcats faced Georgia in the Peach Bowl last year, giving them experience about what to expect from an SEC team.
“Just already seeing what Georgia was like and what they brought to the table,” Brooks said, “really, I wouldn’t say last year we had any doubt or anything, but this year it’s full confidence.”
Brooks has seen many of the reactions since the Bearcats became the first Group of Five team to earn a selection to the College Football Playoff.
“You know, you get the whole nine,” Brooks said. “The ‘great job, you guys are doing so good.’ Then you get the doubters, ‘you have no shot,’ and stuff like that. I just take it with a grain of salt and just keep it going.
“Not that we needed any more motivation. We’re just ready to go to work and play whoever.”
It’s been a long road for Brooks, who has played in 47 career games. He saw the transformation from a team that went 4-8 in each of his first two years to a team that won 25 of their last 26 games.
“It’s just been,” he said, “a journey and a blessing all together.”
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