After playing through the ‘most difficult year’ of his life, Whitworth linebacker Zach Brooks is embracing every moment

By most indications, Zach Brooks had a storybook season during a conference championship run for the Whitworth football team last fall.

The middle linebacker led the team in tackles as the Pirates won 10 consecutive games, including a regular-season finale on the road against perennial power Linfield to earn a playoff berth.

What most outside the football team didn’t see, though, is the grief Brooks wrestled with all season. Two days before fall practices began, his father died four months after being diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma.

Brooks was so overcome with sorrow at times that he came close to quitting.

“Most difficult year of my life – most difficult semester of my life,” Brooks, a Davis, California, native said.

Somehow, Brooks, now a senior, balanced a handful of obligations – not the least of which were a budding relationship, school and football – and came face to face with a darkness he had only heard people talk about.

“I had to fight to stay present and engaged,” Brooks said. “I was spread out, and throw in grief and the academic load … I did my best to take life one day at a time. I was forced to because so much was crammed into my days because of my vast number of responsibilities. I got a minimal amount of sleep, maybe four or five hours a night. That created some challenges for me on the field, especially as the season continued late into the semester.”

It was difficult for Brooks to celebrate Whitworth’s success.

“The lack of joy made the season even more strange and challenging, because a win meant far less to me and my performance on the field meant far less to me than my relationships,” he said.

He treasured his teammates, particularly the ones who were brave enough to step into his grief.

“The reason I kept pushing myself was for my teammates, for the program, for my fiancée – for my dad,” Brooks said.

The grief has lessened some a year later. And it appears he’s going to not only lead Whitworth’s defense again but the 5-foot-11, 222-pounder should also do it in grand fashion.

He had a team-high 11 tackles in Whitworth’s season-opening win and followed it up Saturday with a team-high 12 tackles and a half sack. He’ll likely eclipse the 81 tackles he had last season.

Prior to this year, Brooks was co-president of Whitworth’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), an NCAA-mandated program. He also led a Bible study for two years.

Brooks limited his commitments this fall, stepping away from SAAC and leading a Bible study. He’s focused on football, finishing a degree in English writing with minors in psychology and theology, and his relationships, particularly a lifelong commitment. He got engaged this summer and the wedding is planned for May 31.

In April 2023, life hit Brooks like a blindside block when his father was diagnosed with cancer.

“It was right before Easter and there was an incident when he collapsed in the parking lot at his office,” Brooks said.

“He already had a trip planned and he went, but had to come home early because he was suffering from mental confusion. That’s when he and mom went to the doctor.”

Brooks said the cancer had metastasized throughout his father’s body, including his brain.

Four months later, the end was near when Brooks returned home for a week in early August. He was by his father’s side when he died seven days later.

The family delayed the memorial service until Whitworth’s bye week.

“I flew home that Friday (Sept. 22), wrote an elegy that night and shared it in the service Saturday,” Brooks said. “I flew back on Sunday.”

For the elegy, Brooks prepared a poem.

“It allowed me to process his death and my grief in images that allowed me to step outside what I knew and sit with the unknown element of death that is beyond our rational understanding,” Brooks said.

Brooks’ father attended most of his games. Brooks returned immediately to the team because he knew that’s what his father would have wanted.

“I continued to struggle. I was aware of his absence after each game,” Brooks said.

Brooks is cerebral and thoughtful. He carries a 3.98 grade-point average.

He plans to take two years off from school and work to help support his fiancée and go to graduate school to study clinical psychology. His fiancée is on a health science track and plans to go to graduate school in her pursuit to be a physical therapist.

Brooks was elected as one of Whitworth’s four captains this fall. The night before the Pirates’ home opener, coach Rod Sandberg had him speak to the team.

“There’s a really famous saying and there’s so much truth to it. I’m not going to get it exactly right, but you can learn somebody’s character in one minute of adversity more than six days of success,” Sandberg said. “How Zach responded to losing his father and how he was a rock for his family was so impressive. Somebody’s true character comes out when the bullets are flying. The best way to sum up Zach is he’s a winner in every area of his life.”

Brooks has already lived through graduate training toward his after-football life and vocation. For now, he’s soaking in his last season with his teammates.

“For me, this season is an opportunity to invest in a program that has given me so much and attempt to leave it better than I found it – as much as that is within my ability, and to cherish the relationships I have formed,” Brooks said. “I want to see one of the biggest commitments that I have made in my life to its fruition. I’m glad I stayed the course.”