Elite Vols Commit Receives SIAA Superlative as One of Nation's Top Pure Pass-Rushers

Dylan Brooks is rated as the 18th best player in the country, according to Sports Illustrated All-American. Brooks has been committed to Tennessee for several months now, and he is one of the key pieces of their 2021 class. 

Brooks has continued to receive praise as one of the nation's top edge rushers, and in a recent release by SIAA, he received a superlative as one of the nation's "Top Pure Pass-Rushers."

SIAA's Edwin Weathersby wrote on Brooks: 

Brooks combines ideal length at 6-foot-5, with solid activity with his hands. Among his favorites in his pass-rush toolbox are a chop and a powerful longarm stab, that he can use against both 45-degree and short-setters. Brooks consistently reduces ground quickly, but more impressively, he can bend at entry points, something tall Edges usually have a tough time with. Brooks also uses a long stride to close and finish on passers. With his length, Brooks can be a nightmare for passers trying to manipulate throwing lanes, as his arms and mitts present difficult obstacles. Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt should have fun using Brooks as a defensive chess piece to rush from various positions in Knoxville.

While other schools, including Alabama and Auburn continue to pursue Brooks, he feels that the commitment to Tennessee was the right thing for him. He recently told VR2 on SI on that decision, "I just like the opportunity they offered me, and Coach Pruitt being a defensive mastermind knowing how to setup things."

Brooks also told VR2 in August, " I was silently committed for about two or three weeks before that."

He added, "Coach Pruitt was happy I was committed, but he wanted me to go public, so everybody could start jumping on board. Coach Felton was the happiest, though."

Brooks said on telling the staff, "I was on the phone with Coach Pruitt, and I was like Coach Felton, I am fixing to silently commit. We got on the phone with Coach Ansley, then we were all on Zoom, and I told all three of them. When I got my edit, I went public. I told JJ I was going to come, and then I posted it on April 26th, and it just blew up."

Brooks said on what led to him making a decision earlier than most expected, "it was just the people there and the opportunity they can give me."

Brooks' Handley High School (Ala.) team is off to a 4-0 start in 2020 and are ranked 4th in the state in 4A.