South Carolina wide receiver Jalen Brooks leaves Texas A&M game after scary fall late in second quarter

South Carolina wide receiver Jalen Brooks was injured late in the second quarter of the Texas A&M game on Saturday night. He was thrown a deep pass in the back of the end zone, jumped in the air, and landed funny. He appeared to bang his head on the ground as he was leaping for the football in the back of the end zone. Brooks was motionless, face down on the ground for a few minutes. Then, he was able to get up and walk off the field on his own power, but made his way into the medical tent with South Carolina trainers. He eventually returned to the game in the second half, but it’s unclear what type of injury he suffered. Brooks also had a nice 16-yard run late in the fourth quarter on a critical drive.

This season, Brooks has hauled in 20 catches for 335 receiving yards and no touchdowns. The Gamecocks lead the game 17-14 at halftime, but that was after jumping out to an unbelievable start with a 17-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Texas A&M outgained South Carolina 214 yards to 95 yards in the first half. The Aggies also had two turnovers, which didn’t help things. The Gamecocks’ offense couldn’t get much going in the second half, other than some nice runs by running back MarShawn Lloyd. The South Carolina offensive line did an excellent job opening up holes for Lloyd, who had two rushing touchdowns on the night. The second one he had proved to be the knockout punch for Texas A&M, late in the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King was knocked out of the game and true freshman Connor Weigman entered the game in the second half. Weigman was rated as a five-star prospect and the No. 4 quarterback in America in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. While he threw some nice-looking spirals, he just completed four of eight of his passing attempts. The Gamecocks put plenty of pressure on him and didn’t let him get comfortable in the pocket.