North Charlotte Today

CHARLOTTE — Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks is navigating his recovery with patience and guidance from experienced mentors. The second-round pick, recovering from a November ACL tear during his final season at Texas, was placed on the active/non-football injury list Friday. This status will prevent him from practicing with the team next Wednesday.

"You kind of just have to look at your future," Brooks said earlier this offseason. "Like my running back coach says, Rome wasn't built overnight. You've kind of just got to look at yourself as somebody who wants to play the game for a long time."

Brooks ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at Texas in just 11 games, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Despite his impressive performance, he has accepted that rushing his recovery could jeopardize his career.

"I just have to know that for me to have patience is going to help me further my career," Brooks stated. "If I try to rush it back, I get hurt again; then it could potentially affect the rest of my career."

During his college days, Brooks had limited opportunities behind NFL-bound backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson but used the time to develop physically and mentally.

"I had to be patient but I think what helped me was being behind two great backs," Brooks noted. "I knew that I need to get my body right physically and then getting my brain right mentally."

Brooks arrived in Austin weighing 185 pounds but has since bulked up to a solid 216 pounds through disciplined diet and nutrition.

"I was really small," he recalled with a laugh. "I needed to put a lot of weight on it and just take the weight room in my diet and nutrition very seriously."

Brooks' adjustment included overcoming temptations presented by fast food options available in Austin compared to his small hometown of Hallettsville.

"In college... you're just going to eat," Brooks said. "I come from a small town... So for me, a city like Austin where I can have all the fast food in the world... I really just had some bad habits that I had to break."

In Charlotte, Brooks found another mentor in former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, who overcame three torn ACLs during his career.

"We bonded that way because I had the right knee; he had the right knee," said Bernie Parmalee, Brooks' position coach and former NFL running back who also dealt with knee issues.

Parmalee emphasized mental preparation alongside physical recovery: "It's more mental than physical... Let's make sure we stay sharp mentally so when it's time to go, it's time to go."

The Panthers are not rushing Brooks due to their deep running back roster including Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders, Raheem Blackshear among others.

"I don't want to rush it back," Brooks reiterated. "I believe in the plan that I have with the strength coaches... It's really just a feel thing."

With support from mentors and confidence in his rehabilitation plan, Brooks remains focused on long-term success.