Tony Brooks-James left the practice field at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex short of breath. He was sweating as he walked toward the media. After an early April spring practice, when other players had already ventured to the locker room, Brooks-James and strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe, ran 150-yard sprints on the field.
“I’m so tired,” he said, talking fast, seemingly taking no time to breath in between words. “And I don’t normally get tired.”
Brooks-James, a redshirt freshman running back from Gainesville, Florida, considers himself a competitive player. That’s why he came across the country to Oregon. In a backfield filled with veteran running backs, Brooks-James is fighting to get on the field.
When Brooks-James was a kid, he said his parents made everything a competition. From grades in school to keeping his room clean, Brooks-James wanted to be the best.
“It was instilled in me to wake up everyday and compete like it’s a competition,” he said.
So when it came time to make a college choice, Brooks-James knew Oregon was the place to go to. He said he loves the competition with his teammates.
“If you’re scared of competition, don’t come here,” Brooks-James said.
Wide receiver Bralon Addison agreed with Brooks-James’ assertion. Addison said that there are too many skilled players at Oregon for there not to be competition. “Anyone coming here not expecting to compete is coming here for the wrong reasons,” he said. “We like competitors.”
Brooks-James competitive streak isn’t limited to the football field. Currently, Brooks-James is balancing spring football with the stress of being a full-time sprinter on the school’s track and field team.
After Oregon’s 42-20 loss to Ohio State in the National Championship, Brooks-James and teammate Charles Nelson decided they would compete in track together.
Nelson is also a Florida native. Both Nelson and Brooks-James competed in track in high school from across the state. They never faced each other. When the two were juniors, Nelson tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. Their senior year, Brooks-James was recovering from a broken ankle, femur and torn tendons.
“We didn’t get to race each other,” Nelson said. “But we knew about and heard about each other.”
Fate determined the two Florida high school speedsters would finally race each other in Eugene, Oregon.
On April 11, Brooks-James and Nelson lined up against each other in the 100-meter dash at the Oregon Pepsi Invitational. Brooks-James won the race with a time of 10.72 while Nelson came in fifth, posting a time of 10.94.
“He won, but he didn’t have to scrimmage the day before and do all the up-downs that we had to do,” Nelson said jokingly. “So he was kind of fresh.”
This season, Nelson is making the switch from offensive swiss army knife – he lined up at running back and receiver for Oregon last year – to cornerback. Brooks-James was another player talked about among coaches about converting from the offensive backfield to the defensive secondary.
Oregon’s defensive coordinator, Don Pellum, was asked about his thoughts on Brooks-James midway through spring practices.
“I wish,” Pellum responded. He then shook his head and paused for a second before sneaking in his opinion. “Tony James is fabulous and a tremendous running back, and he would be an unbelievable secondary guy.”
Brooks-James won’t be joining the secondary any time soon. Instead, Brooks-James refers to himself as a “newbie,” trying to make a name for himself at Oregon.
“My goal is to simply be the best person I can, on and off the field,” he said. “Regardless of any sport.”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt