Roth Report: March 2023 – Virginia Tech Athletics

New coaches bring energy, enthusiasm, experience to Virginia Tech’s offense

Football
3/29/2023 11:02:00 AM

During his tenure as head football coach at legendary prep program DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, Elijah Brooks placed dozens of his players at Power 5 schools around the country.
 
One of the most successful turned out to be Cam Phillips, a former Stag who would become Virginia Tech’s all-time leading receiver during his career in Blacksburg. Phillips set all-time school records with 236 receptions for 3,027 yards during his Hokies career from 2014-17.
 
“Cam had a great career on the field,” Brooks recounted this past week, “but when we would talk or text, he always brought up what a special place Blacksburg was, and how it always felt like a home to him.”
 
When Brooks was hired as Virginia Tech’s new running backs coach several weeks ago, one of the first texts he received?

“It was from Cam,” Brooks said. “He was so excited to hear the news. It was a ‘full circle’ kind of thing for both of us.”

 

Brooks comes to Virginia Tech from Maryland, where he spent the last four years as the Terrapins’ running back coach.

 

Some background: As a player, Brooks was a legendary Stag himself. Playing for head coach Bill McGregor at DeMatha, Brooks rushed for more than 3,500 yards and scored 43 touchdowns in his prep career. A two-sport star, Brooks was a four-year point guard on the school’s basketball team under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten.
 

In college, Brooks starred for three seasons at William & Mary under coach Jimmye Laycock. Brooks rushed for over 2,500 yards during his W&M career and caught 68 passes. He scored 24 touchdowns for the Tribe.
 
So with McGregor, Wooten and Laycock as mentors, he had terrific coaching pedigree. In 2011, at the age of 27, he was named McGregor’s successor as Stag’s head coach. He won four consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships from 2014-17, posting a 72-20 record.
 
An impressive list of DeMatha graduates to play for Brooks made the NFL, including Super Bowl champions Rodney McLeod (Philadelphia), Ja’Whaun Bentley (New England), John Lovett (Kansas City), Heisman finalist Chase Young (Washington), Cameron Wake (Miami), as well as…