Steve Sarkisian makes sure season-ending knee injury doesn’t keep Jonathon Brooks out of Big 12 title game win

ARLINGTON, Texas — Steve Sarkisian showed off the Longhorns’ tight-knit culture in one of the coolest moments of championship weekend by making sure a season-ending knee injury didn’t keep 1,000-yard rusher Jonathon Brooks from taking the field in Saturday’s Big 12 title game victory over Oklahoma State.

Sarkisian had Brooks, who was sidelined by a season-ending knee injury a month ago, enter the game for the Longhorns’ final kneel-down in a 49-21 rout of the Cowboys before celebrating Texas’ first Big 12 title since 2009 in UT’s final year in the league before going to the SEC.

“Well, this team is very close, and there’s a great deal of love on our team,” Sarkisian said. “And Jonathon meant a great deal to us. We would not be here today without Jonathon Brooks and what he did for us in a good portion of this season.”

Brooks became a breakout star for the Longhorns in 2023, rushing for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on 187 carries (6.1 ypc) before tearing his ACL against TCU 10 games into the season on Nov. 11. Brooks wasn’t even the starter going into the season. Freshman running back CJ Baxter, who has 525 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 129 carries (4.6 ypc), was the starter for Texas against Rice and Alabama before being slowed by a foot injury.

Brooks took off from there, ranking among the nation’s top-three rushers for much of the season while also ranking among the nation’s leaders in forced missed tackles (63) and yards after contact (731), according to Pro Football Focus. PFF has Brooks, a redshirt sophomore, as its top-rated running back heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. Brooks hasn’t indicated if he’ll declare for the draft or return to Texas next season.

“You hate when guys have season-ending injuries like that,” Sarkisian said. “So, ironically, on Thursday, at the end of practice, we took a knee. I had everybody on the sideline, and we took a knee. And I put Jonathon out there when we took the knee, and I think everyone is like, ‘What’s he doing?’

“When I was done, I said, ‘When we win Saturday, Jonathon’s going out there to be part of this victory with us, and he’s going to register a snap that he was part of a Big 12 Championship game.’ And the guys, they love that stuff. So we had to follow through.”

Brooks watched the first half of the Big 12 title game from the Texas sideline in sweats. But in the second half, Brooks put on his uniform, while continuing to wear his knee brace.

On the game’s final play, Brooks went onto the field and lined up 5 yards behind backup quarterback Arch Manning.

“Jonathon Brooks put enough of his uniform on just to be on the field for the [Big 12] championship game,” said ABC play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough. “What a smart and classy gesture by Steve Sarkisian for the great running back.”

Manning took the final snap, kneeled down and then turned around and tossed the ball to Brooks before giving him a hug.

“It was a great moment,” Sarkisian said. “He [Brooks] has earned it. He deserved it. These guys are so close with one another that I’m glad he was able to have that moment.”