Haircuts, heat and helmets: Meet Sun Devil running back DeCarlos Brooks

Running back DeCarlos Brooks completed two football seasons at the University of California before returning home to ignite the inferno with the Arizona State University Sun Devils. Brooks' passion for football began in the heat of Chandler, Arizona, where he was raised.

Football has always been at the center of Brooks’ life — his father, Carlos Brooks, was a defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals in 1995. “I was around six years old, and then my dad introduced me to football, ” Brooks said. “That’s  why I started playing, because of him.” 

Bonding with his new teammates during his first season at ASU, Brooks hinted that the team has adapted and prepared for the new season in exciting ways. 

“Oh, the team has changed a lot,” Brooks said. “We've got a bunch of new guys coming in that are really excited and fit our chemistry and what we want here, the standard that we have. I'm very excited to see the coaching staff and all the new guys coming in, showing their skills into the spring and now into the fall.”

Brooks said the best way for his fellow Sun Devils to support the team is to simply show up.

“Just show up to the games. Just being there, showing up, showing a face,” Brooks said. “We feed off of that. So, the more people come to a game and cheer us on, the better we're going to be and we're going to feel that energy and feel that community.”

On top of being an elite running back for a revamped Sun Devil team, Brooks is also entering his senior year as an ASU student studying liberal studies at the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

“It's been great academically and on the field,” Brooks said. “They welcomed me with open arms, and I've learned a lot. It's just comfortable being back home.”

When asked what brought Brooks to ASU, he said it went beyond just the opportunity to play for Sun Devil football.

“Besides the football aspect of it, I know it's still a great school to be at,” Brooks said. “Just being back home, being comfortable where I'm at and just getting a grip from here is a really good thing.”

When he’s not cutting up defenses on the field, Brooks is cutting it up in the chair — the barber chair that is. Brooks’ homecoming not only gave him an opportunity to play for his hometown team, but also the ability to give back to his local community where he offers free haircuts for children through his “Cut Back, Give Back” program at the AZ  Barber Academy in Tempe.

“COVID is what really got me into cutting hair,” he said. “There were no barbers at all, so everybody's looking kind of rough. I just started cutting my own hair, then my little brother and then my cousin.”

“And then when I came back home to Arizona, I wanted to give a big pop, to show I'm here for the community,” Brooks continued. “And so, I started doing this community service for the kids, cutting hair for the kids. And it's been very beneficial for me and my family. I love seeing the kids' faces after they get a fresh cut, free haircut. It's been really cool.”

After graduation day, Brooks hopes his efforts as Sun Devil running back will attract the attention of NFL recruiters, or he will consider pursuing a people-centric career.

“I'm definitely pursuing my career in the NFL, but if that doesn't happen, I can always lean on doing my haircuts and opening my own barbershop, doing things of that nature,” Brooks said. 
“But as far as my degree, I just want to be involved in people's lives and be part of the community, whatever the case might be. I always thought of myself as a coach or a teacher type, so I think that's something my degree also helps with.”

Support Brooks and the ASU Sun Devils this season when you download your free student football tickets here: https://eoss.asu.edu/inferno.