Brian Kelly thanks Arkansas for help honoring Greg Brooks Jr.

One of the more heart-warming subplots to Saturday’s tight contest between Arkansas and LSU was a joint show of support for LSU defensive back Greg Brooks Jr., who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Both programs opted to honor Brooks with a show on their equipment, and coach Brian Kelly thanked Arkansas for joining in the show of support afterward.

“As you know, we wore the No. 3 on our helmet, as did, I want to thank Sam Pittman and the Arkansas administration for agreeing to wear the No. 3 on their helmet,” Kelly said. “Says a lot about the class that they showed in honoring Greg today.”

The move was indeed quite classy, and Arkansas had good reason to honor Brooks, as well.

The veteran defensive back spent his first three seasons with the Razorbacks before transferring to the Tigers. He piled up 112 total tackles, eight PBUs and four interceptions — one of which he returned for a touchdown in 2020.

Then he moved over to LSU.

Sadly, his season has been put on hold as doctors work to determine whether the tumor that was recently removed will present further problems. In the meantime, LSU players have been playing for their lost comrade.

“They’ve been motivated for Greg,” Kelly said. “He’s one of our captains and he’s somebody that our players love. He’s in their thoughts, he’s in their prayers. … He’s on everybody’s minds and we’re praying for him.”

During the lead-up to Saturday’s game, Kelly discussed Brooks’ condition post-op during the weekly SEC teleconference, noting how the team discovered his condition after repeated bouts with vertigo during fall camp, which bled into the season.

“We were trying to find out what the symptoms were and he had another episode,” Kelly said. “He had dizziness again on Wednesday of last week. Finally, we said enough’s enough and we got an MRI and that’s when the tumor was located. So the vertigo was just a symptom of what was obviously a larger issue.”

Greg Brooks Jr.’s family also released a statement about his status earlier in the week.

“Doctors successfully performed the procedure Friday to remove the mass, and we are awaiting biopsy results,” the family wrote in a post shared on Twitter. “We are grateful for the work and the care of these medical staff helping Greg through these challenges and for the concern and love poured out by so many in the Louisiana, Arkansas and national sports communities. That means the world to us in this difficult time.

“Greg continues to fight, and we await further clarity on the extent of that battle. His incredible strength of character gives us confidence, but we also know that he needs our support now more than ever. Please keep Greg and our family in your prayers.”