Why a breakout season could be in store for Kansas State wide receiver Phillip Brooks
Ask Phillip Brooks what he expects to accomplish this upcoming season and the senior Kansas State receiver will respond with a question of his own.
Did you see the bowl game?
His thinking: If you watched Brooks catch a team-high five passes for 69 yards while the Wildcats dismantled LSU 42-20 last January at the Texas Bowl, then you’ve already had a sneak peek at what he is capable of doing under new offensive coordinator Collin Klein.
“My biggest asset is my quickness and my speed,” Brooks said. “I will help a lot with that when it comes to underneath routes and getting open in space, making moves after the catch.”
It’s exciting to think about what an expanded role might look like for Brooks. The 5-foot-7 and 169-pound Lee’s Summit West product has long been dangerous with the ball in his hands, but his best highlights have mostly come as a punt returner.
Remember the time he returned a pair of punts for touchdowns against Kansas two years ago?
Now he seems ready to start making more big plays as a wide receiver. Last season could be considered a mini breakout for him in that area, as he caught 43 passes for 543 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers were huge improvements over his first three seasons in purple, when he caught a total of 41 passes for 366 yards and one score.
At that rate of improvement, it’s possible he could lead the Wildcats in catches this season. Maybe he could even push for 1,000 yards, something that hasn’t been done in Manhattan since Tyler Lockett and Curry Sexton both accomplished the feat in 2014.
Why not? There are going to be more opportunities than ever for a receiver as K-State switches to an up-tempo offense. Brooks seems like an ideal target for Adrian Martinez out of the slot whenever deep threats aren’t open down the field.
On certain plays, K-State’s strategy may be to simply throw him the ball short in space and get out of the way, almost like it’s a punt return.
“Phillip works his tail off,” Klein said. “I feel he has even taken it another step. He had a great year last year. This camp, he has added on a little bit of weight and he is playing with an edge like a seasoned-four year player does. He has been awesome in that room. He has got a lot of swagger.”
Another interesting thing to know about Brooks: He didn’t start playing receiver full time until he arrived at K-State. He was mostly a running back in high school and spent much of his time in the offseason playing baseball.
It understandably took him a few years to learn how to consistently make plays as a wide out. The game began slowing down for him last season. Now he’s ready to show off his full assortment of skills.
“Phillip Brooks has been awesome,” Martinez said. “I think he’s had a great camp. With him and Malik (Knowles) we have some strong veterans in that wide receiver corps.”
Brooks could sense bigger things were in store for him as soon as the Texas Bowl came to an end. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why he switched numbers from 88 to 8 in the spring.
Sure, it may be difficult for fans to identify him early on in games this year. But the way he sees it, they will catch on quickly if he keeps making big plays the way he did at the Texas Bowl.