Brooks attended Framingham North High School where he was a two-sport star athlete in football and basketball.
In 1980 as a junior, Brooks was named to the Bay State League All-Star team as a defensive back.
The Boston Globe named Brooks a Star of the Week in a 21-13 win over Braintree High School.
[4] Brooks was selected to play in the Massachusetts Shriners All-Star game, representing the South team.
[8] That year, BU were Yankee Conference co-champions with Maine and faced Colgate in the first round of the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs, losing 21-7.
As a sophomore, Brooks and running back Paul Lewis led the Terriers to a 9-4 record and a tie for #13 in the Division I-AA rankings.
BU won their first round matchup in the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs, defeating Eastern Kentucky 24-20.
[8] BU played Grambling State in the opening game of the season as part of the Whitney Young Memorial Classic at Yankee Stadium.
BU tied for the #4 ranking, and faced Richmond in the first round of the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs, where they lost 33-35.
[8] In Brooks' 1985 senior season, BU went 3-8 and missed the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs for the first time in his career.
He recorded his first NFL touchdown reception in week four against the New York Jets on a three-yard pass from fellow rookie quarterback Jack Trudeau.
[17] In a week 11 rematch against the Jets, Brooks recorded his first 100-yard receiving game with nine catches for 177 yards and one touchdown.
[19] Brooks set Colts rookie records in all receiving categories, finishing the 1986 season with 65 receptions for 1,131 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Colts' play continued to improve under Meyer, with the addition of star running back Eric Dickerson providing a new offensive weapon.
The Colts made their first NFL playoff appearance since moving to Indianapolis, losing in the Divisional Round 21-38 to the Cleveland Browns.
Chandler was thrust into the starting role as veteran Gary Hogeboom and Trudeau both suffered injuries.
Brooks was injured in a preseason game against the Denver Broncos, but was able to recover before the start of the regular season.
[25] The Colts posted their second consecutive winning season, going 9-7 but finishing just outside of the playoffs at second place in the AFC East.
Coming into the season, Brooks held out of training camp in response to the much larger contract that the rookie Rison had received.
Chris Chandler started the first three games of the season before suffering an ACL tear, leaving Trudeau to take the reins.
Prior to the 1990 NFL draft, Indianapolis traded Rison and lineman Chris Hinton to the Atlanta Falcons for their first round selection.
Brooks replaced retired starter James Lofton and quickly made a connection with star quarterback Jim Kelly.
Brooks, Pro Bowl receiver Andre Reed, and tight end Pete Metzelaars were Kelly's primary targets on the season.
In 1996, he received the Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award for community impact.
Brooks earned a Master's in Business Administration degree from Butler University while a member of the Colts.