LSU Football: Marcel Brooks’ decision raises eyebrows, but no reason for concern
By Zach Ragan
LSU football received some unfortunate news this week.
Former five-star linebacker Marcel Brooks, a member of LSU football‘s 2019 signing class, entered the transfer portal on Friday according to 247Sports’ Shea Dixon.
This is obviously not good news for the Tigers.
Brooks played 118 snaps in 11 games for LSU last season, serving in a backup role behind Patrick Queen.
The Texas native, who was rated as the No. 2 outside linebacker in the nation in the 2019 recruiting class, was expected to be a key player for LSU in 2020. Brooks didn’t necessarily have a starting spot locked down, but there was a good chance he’d be one of the Tigers’ starting linebackers.
While Brooks’ transfer (if he does indeed leave Baton Rouge) will certainly hurt LSU’s depth, it’s no reason for fans to be concerned. There’s nothing going wrong at LSU. This is just a sign of the times.
Why LSU football fans shouldn’t worry about Brooks potentially leaving
There are going to be some eyebrows raised anytime a young former five-star recruit who is line to start leaves a program.
Especially when it’s an elite program like LSU.
But there’s no reason for eyebrows to be raised in this specific situation with Brooks.
That’s because I think there’s a reasonable and easy explanation for why the dynamic linebacker wants to leave Baton Rouge.
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, it’s certainly feasible that Brooks has realized he wants to be closer to home.
Brooks’ hometown, Flower Mound, TX, is a little over six hours away from Baton Rouge. That’s a fairly significant drive — especially if a player needs to quickly get home (and with so much uncertainty right now, it’s something that should be taken into consideration for athletes).
There’s a closer option for Brooks that makes sense.
Baylor.
Not only is Baylor just under two hours from Flower Mound, but there’s also some familiarity there for Brooks. Former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda is the Bears’ new head coach.
In 2017, Brooks told Rivals that Baylor has “been a special place to me since I was a little kid”.
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It’s unclear right now what Brooks will decide, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him land at Baylor. And if he does, it would be hard to blame the former five-star recruit for wanting to be closer to home.