TIFFIN — There was no game-interrupting celebration or over-the-top postgame ceremony.
The occasion came and went virtually unnoticed — just the way Cartel Brooks wanted.
A Mansfield native and 2010 Galion High School product, Brooks became Heidelberg University’s career rushing leader in the No. 23 Student Prince’s wild 69-52 win over Ohio Northern on a magnificent Saturday afternoon at Heidelberg’s Hoernemann Stadium. The senior eclipsed Jeff Brock’s career mark of 4,077 yards with a 7 yard carry on Heidelberg’s second possession of the first quarter.
Instead of engaging in a look-at-me moment, the understated Brooks picked himself up off the artificial surface, handed the ball to the nearest official and nonchalantly walked back to the huddle. The achievement would have passed without any fanfare had public address announcer Jack Kagy not made mention of the milestone a few plays later.
“I wasn’t expecting them to stop the game or anything like that,” said the unassuming Brooks, who rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and now has 4,173 yards and 51 touchdowns on 540 career attempts. “To break the record is a blessing, but it wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates. At the end of the play it just so happens I am the one with the ball in my hands.
“I finish the play, but my teammates deserve the credit.”
For someone with such an accomplished collegiate resume, Brooks is remarkably down to earth. The powerfully-built, 5-foot-9, 195-pound tailback shocked the college football world — and earned an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter with anchor and Heidelberg alum John Buccigross — when he broke the NCAA all divisions single-game rushing record in the season finale last November. Brooks rumbled for an impossible 465 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries in Heidelberg’s 42-14 win over Baldwin Wallace at Finnie Stadium in Berea.
Brooks’ game jersey, cleats and game ball were immediately sent to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, where they are on display.
“It still is overwhelming. It’s hard to wrap my head around,” Brooks said. “I think about it every once in a while and it’s hard to believe my jersey is hanging in the hall of fame.”
While a lot of athletes talk a good game, Brooks’ humility is sincere. Galion coach Chris Hawkins would stake his reputation on it.
“He’s such a humble kid. You can tell what he is saying is genuine,” said Hawkins, who piloted Galion to a 10-0 regular season record and a Northern Ohio League championship during Brooks’ senior season in 2009. “Cartel always went above and beyond to get better and he wasn’t doing it to impress people.”
As a senior at Galion, Brooks rushed for 1,293 yards during the regular season and led the Tigers to their first NOL title since 1997. The Tigers advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1989 and Brooks was selected the NOL’s Player of the Year.
“As good as a running back as he was for us, he was just as good at cornerback,” Hawkins said. “I have coached some hard workers over the years, from (former Cleveland Browns quarterback) Charlie Frye at Willard to (current Saginaw Valley State University running back) David Nay here at Galion and Cartel ranks right up there with those guys in terms of work ethic.”
Despite his prolific senior season, college recruiters weren’t beating down Brooks’ door. That was his own fault, Brooks admitted.
“When I was in high school, I was lacking focus in the classroom. My main focus was on football,” said Brooks, a sports management major. “I was talking to Ashland University and they told me if I went to Erie Community College (in Buffalo, N.Y.) and got my academics straightened out I could transfer to Ashland.
“Things didn’t work out and I couldn’t transfer to Ashland, so I eventually gave Heidelberg a call and the rest is history.”
Heidelberg coach Mike Hallett had recruited Brooks out of Galion and kept tabs on him at Erie, but didn’t know the second team All-Ohioan had any intentions of joining the Student Princes.
“We didn’t realize that he was going to come back to the area,” said Hallett, an Orrville High School graduate and former head coach at Wooster High School. “About 10 days before we started workouts, his mother (Inez Adley) contacted us and we were able to get him into camp.
“We were thrilled to have him.”
Brooks began to make a name for himself in the fall of 2011, rushing for 759 yards and seven touchdowns on just 83 carries while serving as an understudy to Germany Woods, who rushed for a single-season record 1,421 yards that season before transferring to Mount Union. Brooks was lethal on special teams, returning three kickoffs for touchdowns while averaging 37.9 yards per return.
The following year, with Woods out of the picture, Brooks led the Ohio Athletic Conference in rushing with 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was a 2012 D3football.com All-America second team selection and an OAC first team pick as Heidelberg qualified for the Division III playoffs for the first time in school history.
The Student Princes missed out on a playoff berth last fall, going 8-2, but Brooks rewrote the record books. He rushed for a school single season record 1,704 yards and 23 touchdowns and was a D3football.com All-America first team pick.
Brooks picked up in 2014 where he left off last fall. He rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries — in the first half — of a season-opening 72-7 win over Alma. He was selected the OAC Player of the Week.
“Honestly, I’m glad everything worked out the way it did and I ended up coming here,” Brooks said. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I’m going to make the best of my senior season and see what happens after that.”
Brooks is hoping at least for an audition with an NFL team.
“We had a junior pro day here last year and I talked to a couple NFL scouts then,” he said. “That’s my goal, to finish up with this season and prepare for the draft.”
A Heidelberg product in the NFL is not unprecedented. Former Student Princes wideout Michael Preston played with the Tennessee Titans from 2011 to 2013 before being waived in August.
“Michael was one of the main reasons why I stayed at Heidelberg,” Brooks said. “I figured if he can make it out, if I work hard enough than I can make it out, too. That’s my goal.”
Betting against Brooks would be unwise, Hawkins said.
“There are more and more guys going to the NFL from Division II and Division III college programs,” he said. “I really believe Cartel was a Division I athlete who, because of circumstances, ended up at a smaller program. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything he does.
“It’s easy to get behind a kid like Cartel.”
“It still is overwhelming. It’s hard to wrap my head around,” Brooks said. “I think about it every once in a while and it’s hard to believe my jersey is hanging in the hall of fame.”
