Brooks Has Flu, but He Still Makes Trojans Look Sick

On an evening when his stomach malfunctioned, but his legs didn’t, a queasy Reggie Brooks made his own belated run at a Heisman Trophy.

Three touchdowns and 227 rushing yards later, he wobbled to the Notre Dame locker room and dined on that traditional victory meal enjoyed by flu-ridden record breakers everywhere: bananas and soda. What he really deserved was bed rest and an invitation to the Heisman awards ceremony early next month.

Yes, well, Brooks will now get both, thanks mostly to Saturday night’s run-fest against USC, which entered the game ranked sixth in the nation against the rush. Brooks carried the ball only 19 times, but each one averaged nearly 12 yards. Worse yet for the Trojans, three of those runs didn’t end until Brooks was safely past the USC goal line.

“I didn’t have no energy,” he said. “I was just running on heart toward the end.”

Brooks might want to consider getting a stomach virus more often. He was woozy on the bus ride to the Coliseum. He was dizzy during warm-ups. And shortly before the Irish took the field for the opening kickoff, he was vomiting in a nearby locker room bathroom. The same thing happened at halftime, too.

So ill was Brooks that he had to take himself out of the game on several occasions. Once on the bench, a student manager offered him a bottle of water, an assortment of crackers and, yes, more bananas.

But the three food groups aren’t what got Brooks back in the game. Truth is, Notre Dame couldn’t have won without him. The Irish passing attack was nothing more than a rumor--quarterback Rick Mirer was a dismal five of 14 for 75 yards, no touchdowns and one interception--and USC refused to go away.

So in came Brooks. USC knows the rest of the story.

“Brooks has had a great year,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “He had great stats coming in. We knew he was a good player. He ran well and played a great football game.”

Brooks was the great unknown at season’s start. Mirer was supposed to be the Heisman candidate of choice.

And if not Mirer, then fullback Jerome Bettis.

But as the year wore on, Brooks slowly became the focal point of Coach Lou Holtz’s run-oriented offense. He gained 157 yards against Michigan and provided a national television audience with the best touchdown run of the season.

There was a 205-yard game against Purdue, a 111-yard effort against Brigham Young, a 174-yard game against Boston College and a 78-yard performance against Penn State, which might not sound like much, but he was sick then, too.

Even Holtz realized that he had a special player . . . three years too late. In his sheepish way, Holtz now acknowledges that perhaps he should have played Brooks more often. But with Ricky Watters, Rodney Culver and even Brooks’ brother, Tony, available, what was a coach to do?

Brooks doesn’t hold a grudge. After Saturday night’s victory over USC, he couldn’t have cared less about the past.

“I’m just thankful I was able to perform,” he said, “to go out and entertain people.”

As Heisman votes go, it was probably too little, too late for Brooks. Of course, if you’re the Trojans, it was too much, too often.

“I just go out and do my job,” Brooks said.

But pressed about his place on the Heisman ballot, Brooks allowed that maybe, just maybe, he deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as Miami quarterback Gino Torretta, San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk or Georgia running back Garrison Hearst.

“I guess I would have to say (that),” Brooks said. “But that’s not something I’m really concerned about.”

Don’t tell that to his teammates, who mounted a spirited postgame campaign for the shy and understated Brooks.

“If you say Marshall Faulk, Gino Torretta or Garrison Hearst, I’d take Reggie Brooks,” Mirer said.

“I haven’t seen those guys do it week in, week out.”

And this from Irish guard Aaron Taylor: “He came in at halftime and he could barely stand. I mean, third and eight and we run a draw and he breaks it for 55 yards and a touchdown. I think he’s by far the best back in the country. Heisman? Reggie Brooks, by far. By far.”