South Carolina Football: Gamecock playmaker makes NFL roster
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football had five players drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. Cornerback Cam Smith, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens, corner Darius Rush, offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn, and wide receiver Jalen Brooks all were selected.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the bunch was Brooks.
The former Wingate University receiver transferred to the South Carolina football program (after a brief stop at Tarleton State). He had to sit out for a time due to transferring twice, and he had one other stint away from the program for reasons outside of his control.
The Harrisburg, North Carolina native never stopped working, though.
Playing, at times, behind more highly-touted targets like Juice Wells, Jaheim Bell, and Josh Vann, Brooks still performed well enough to catch the eye of the NFL, earning an invite to the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
Brooks did not have his best day in Indianapolis, but he continued working and redeemed himself during South Carolina football’s Pro Day in Columbia. The end result? Jalen Brooks was picked up in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
This week, after a strong showing during training camp, along with Brooks’ work ethic and special teams ability, he earned a spot on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster.
Brooks will battle for the 4th and 5th wide receiver spots with America’s Team behind big-time wideouts CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Brandin Cooks.
7th-round picks are far from guaranteed to make a team, so Brooks’ first NFL accomplishment is a big deal. In fact, only about 30% of 7th-round selections make the 53-man roster for any team, with that number dropping below 10% of 7th rounders making the team with the organization that drafted them.
Those odds were high compared to some others that Brooks has beaten. The odds of a Division-II player making his way to the NFL is less than 1%. In fact, despite the much smaller pool of players, less than 3% of the 1800 or so active players in the NFL began their careers at the D-II level.
Now wearing #83 with the Dallas Cowboys, Jalen Brooks will look to continue beating the odds.