KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — When Will Brooks caught the game-winning interception to seal Tennessee's victory over the Crimson Tide, Todd Evans, his former high school defensive backs coach, watched as an Alabama fan.
Evans could tell his former safety would make the play before the ball was snapped.
"They threw an in-cut, and he was a little bit late in the first quarter," Evans said. "I looked at my dad and said, 'If they do that later, he's gonna pick it to seal the game.'"
These are the game-winning plays Brooks has waited patiently to make since he joined the Vols as a walk-on in 2020. But Coach Evans knew all along that if given the opportunity, Brooks would make an impact, just like he did at Vestavia Hills High School.
"Will's one of those guys that makes people around him better," said Evans. "He never complains; he just keeps working, and it's amazing that if you just stick to the course and work hard, good things will happen."
Before closing the door on his home state school on Saturday night, Brooks made several other big plays, including a shoelace tackle to bring Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe down before he could score with an open field in front of him.
"That's him; he just shows up and does something uncanny, and when you look at the game, you're like, 'That was a huge play,'" said Evans.
Brooks' long 5-year journey at Tennessee is proof that the waiting game can sometimes pay off.
"Will is a transfer portal, NIL-proof kid," said Evans. "I mean he just wants to play football and do it for the right reasons and represent his school."
Even though Coach Evans has always been loyal to the Crimson and White, seeing his former player succeed is more special.
"l didn't even have a sense of 'Alabama lost.' I was happy, genuinely happy," said Evans. "That's probably the first time I've ever been that way about an Alabama loss."
