Alabama Receiver Has Career Day Against Florida State

Lotzeir Brooks had the best statistical game of his career in Week 3 versus Florida State, with all of his production coming in just the first half of the game. The sophomore stud called his performance just "regular" after the game.

Alabama Wide Receiver Lotzeir Brooks attempts to catch a pass in the first half of the game against FSU on Sept 19, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama sophomore wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks had a fine freshman season with the Crimson Tide a year ago. 

His regular-season high in receiving yards last season was just 67 before breaking out in the Tide’s first-round playoff game at Oklahoma with 79 yards and two scores, making critical plays down the stretch.

Now, with Germie Bernard gone to the NFL, Brooks is the de facto wide receiver two in Tuscaloosa, and he’s starting to prove he deserves a bigger role in Kalen DeBoer’s offense.

The Millville, New Jersey native set a career-high in receiving yards and receptions against Florida State Saturday with 101 yards on eight catches, and the kicker is, they all came in the first half. 

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb went to Brooks on more than just early downs Saturday. Of his eight catches, four of his receptions came on third or fourth down, flashing that clutch gene we saw in Norman last December.  

Brooks’s final catch of the day came with 34 seconds left in the first half with Alabama trailing 19-21. His 40-yard snag along the sideline set up a Kaleb Edwards touchdown to cap off an offensive explosion, which saw the Tide erase a 21-6 deficit in just over two minutes of game time.

DeBoer commended Brooks’s dependability after the game.

“Lotzeir’s doing a nice job being quarterback-friendly,” he said. “Finding his route and being in a spot where the quarterback expects him to be.”

Brooks talked about helping out his quarterback, Keelon Russell, who Brooks is having “so much fun” playing with.

“We all just try to help him as best we as can, get lined up fast, whatever it is,” he said. “We just try to help him so he can just have a calm and great game. If he plays good, and he’s calm and not worried about anything, he’s very, very good.”

A few of Brooks’s targets came while Russell was using one of his strongest attributes: his ability to improvise.

“We always know if he breaks the pocket, we gotta keep our feet moving,” he said. “We know with a playmaker like him, the play’s never dead.”

Russell gave credit to the position group as a whole when he was asked about his chemistry with Brooks.

“I mean, it’s everybody honestly, all the receivers,” he said. “They’re open. They’re ball players. They're playmakers as well, you know, a simple two-yard hitch route can turn into a touchdown if you get into those guys’ hands.”

Russell’s “two-yard hitch” comment rings true for Brooks, as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing it from the sophomore. 

When asked about his career day, Brooks downplayed it, as if he knows that he has many more performances like tonight’s left in store.

“It felt regular to me,” he said. “I work every day. I always work hard. I always know the moment’s gonna come for me. It’s really just nothing to me.”

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