Tahj Brooks announces his return for the last season
Texas Tech senior Tahj Brooks will use his final year of eligibility to contend for the school’s lifetime running record.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech senior running back Tahj Brooks said Monday that he will use his final year of eligibility to return for the 2024 football season, where he will be one of the nation’s best rushing threats.
Brooks, an All-Big 12 first team honoree and Doak Walker Award semifinalist this season, enters the Radiant Technologies Independence Bowl on Saturday as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher after totaling 1,443 yards on the ground this season. He currently ranks sixth on the Texas Tech single-season chart and could potentially move to as high as third with another strong performance against Cal.
“This is an exciting day for our program with Tahj announcing his return for next season,” head coach Joey McGuire said. “From our conversations in recent weeks, it was clear that Tahj wants to leave a legacy here at Texas Tech and that a return for next season would help him do just that. Not only is Tahj one of the nation’s top running backs, but he is a phenomenal teammate and leader of this program.”
Brooks will enter the 2024 season with the possibility to beat the Texas Tech career rushing record of 4,219 yards set by Doak Walker winner Byron Hanspard from 1994-96. Brooks enters the bowl game with 2,957 running yards for his career and needs 43 yards to become the seventh Red Raider in history to surpass 3,000 yards.
Brooks has been one of the most elusive rushers in the NCAA this season, entering the postseason as the FBS leader with 91 caused missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Brooks, who is fourth in the FBS with 919 yards after contact, is the only power-five player with at least 70 forced missed tackles this season.
Brooks had eight 100-yard performances this season, with seven coming in Big 12 play, when he averaged 130.6 rushing yards per game. Brooks rushed for 1,175 yards versus conference opponents, ranking second in the FBS behind only Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, the eventual winner of the Doak Walker Award.
Brooks, a Manor native from the Austin region, scored touchdowns on the ground in seven consecutive Big 12 games, becoming the first Red Raider to do it in a single season since Taurean Henderson in 2004. He is just Texas Tech’s second 1,000-yard runner since the Red Raiders switched to a spread offense before the 2000 season.
The game between Texas Tech and California is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Saturday night at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. ESPN and the Texas Tech Sports Network will provide national coverage.
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