SALT LAKE CITY – BYU football offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said he’s been impressed in spring with new Cougar running back Christopher Brooks.

The graduate transfer from California announced his commitment to BYU in early January.

During the first practices of spring football, Brooks has shown why the Cougars recruited him to play his final collegiate season in Provo.

Roderick, who is entering his second season as BYU’s offensive coordinator, spoke about Brooks during an interview with Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard on The Zone Sports Network.

“You can tell he’s a veteran player,” Roderick said of Brooks. “We’re two days into it and he knows our offense as well as guys that have been in this offense for a year or two. I’ve been impressed with how smart he is, how quickly he’s learning what we’re doing and he looks like a real guy.

“So far he's been everything we expected.” – @BYUfootball OC Aaron Roderick (@CoachRoderick) on RB Christopher Brooks (@chris_br0oks26) 🤙

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— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 2, 2022

The coordinator described the 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pound back from Oceanside, California as a big guy who eclipsed quarterback Jaren Hall in the backfield.

“He looks great,” Roderick said. “The first thing you’ll notice when you see him is just how big he is. And he is a big guy.”

First look at Cal Transfer Christopher Brooks in the BYU offense.
Read more about Day 1 of Spring practice from @Mitch_Harper and @baiamontematt at https://t.co/ypjEIgn0f5https://t.co/Soehb206Tahttps://t.co/yjWL0kcgBz pic.twitter.com/A3NuBjxiw4

— Matthew L Glade (@matthewLksl) March 1, 2022

Brooks is competing with multiple running backs for the task of replacing Tyler Allgeier, who left the Cougars after back-to-back seasons of at least 1,100 rushing yards and helped BYU to a combined 21-4 record from 2020-21.

Roderick said that despite already having “some other good backs” that BYU has “a lot of faith in,” the opportunity to add Brooks to the roster was something the Cougars couldn’t overlook.

“We just felt like we couldn’t pass on a chance to get a great player,” Roderick told Olsen and Garrard. “Chris will be a big part of what we’re doing.”

During his four seasons with the Cal Bears, Brooks ran for 1,734 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Roderick has already been impressed with his production through a couple of spring practices.

“So far he’s been everything we expected,” the offensive coordinator finished.

Listen to the Hans and Scotty G show weekdays from 12-3 p.m. (MDT) on The Zone Sports Network.

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