Two days after being singled out by head coach Braxton Harris for his strong spring performance, linebacker Jalen Brooks – Campbell’s leading tackler in 2024 – has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Brooks, who totaled 118 tackles last season and posted a career-best 19 stops in a single outing against William & Mary, made the announcement on social media Monday evening. He saw action with the first-team unit during Campbell’s Saturday spring game, including making a tackle on his first snap.
“This is hard for me to send out, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without Campbell University,” Brooks wrote in a post on X. “Coach Harris, Coach Daniels, Coach Ru, Coach Koy and the rest of the staff – thank you for believing in me, developing me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of your system. Witnessing the growth of this program has been incredible, and I am beyond grateful to have been a part of it.”
Brooks, who lists Knightdale as his hometown, played high school football at Cardinal Gibbons in Raleigh before committing to North Carolina. He played in 32 games for the Tar Heels — mostly on special teams — and recorded a fumble recovery in a game against Campbell in 2023 before transferring to Buies Creek for 2024.
Brooks’ transfer announcement is especially notable given his family ties to Campbell. His father, Jerry Brooks, was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame in January. A former standout wrestler, the elder Brooks won 64 matches during his career and still holds the single-season school record for pins (17) and wins (39) in a season. Jalen’s decision to join the Campbell football program in 2024 was seen as a full-circle moment for the family.
“My dad always said, ‘All roads lead to Campbell,’” Brooks told NC Football News after the Camels’ spring game. “He has a record here for pins and everything like that. So it’s kind of big shoes to fill, but in a different sport.”
The younger Brooks, a two-time state wrestling champ in high school, nearly wrestled in college but chose football instead. His performance last season with the Camels may afford him another chance at FBS football this fall.
“Football is more of my passion,” said Brooks (5-11, 230). “But (wrestling) helps your muscular endurance. It’s six straight minutes of wrestling one guy. It’s just you on the mat. You can’t really blame anybody.
“Also you build up your wind, your balance, hand-fighting skills, learning your leverage. So when you get out here (in football), it’s like, ‘I have been in this position before. I know how to fight people off, especially for me dealing with bigger guys.’”
Brooks’ departure is another tough blow for the Camels, who saw all-conference wide receiver Sincere Brown announce his decision to transfer a few days before the spring game.
Harris had made a point of singling out Brooks’ “great spring” during post-game comments to the media on Saturday.
The losses of standouts like Brooks and Brown are more reminders of the ever-changing landscape of college football, where players come and go regardless of their starting point. Harris addressed the realities of the transfer portal after Saturday’s spring game.
“The transfer portal is what it is,” he said. “There are guys who do it the right way and there are guys who do it the wrong way. I think we’ve had a lot of guys that do it the right way. If guys come to Campbell and get developed and get opportunities to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, we want them to have the best opportunity they can for them and their family… That’s life and we want them to handle it the right way. And we want to teach our guys how to handle it. That’s the real world.”
Campbell has added more than a dozen players through the portal this cycle, including Robert Morris transfer tight end Trevor Wilson, who committed over the weekend. Also, UNC Pembroke transfer running back Joshua Ellerbe announced Monday that he’s also headed to Buies Creek.
The portal taketh. The portal giveth in return.
“When we look into the transfer portal, we’re not looking for just a big name that pops in there,” Harris said. “We want people that want to come to Campbell, that see the value in that, and they want a great degree. They want to be here in North Carolina and they want to compete in this league and build championships.
“And so we’re not looking for the name, the stars. We’re looking for the fit. And somebody that wants a great education and that wants to be at Campbell and wants to build.”
pic.twitter.com/cIhDXhc3B3 — JalenBrooks 🔥🏈 (@JalenBBrooks) March 25, 2025
