LSU sophomore safety Ron Brooks did not think he would play defense in his college football career.He played quarterback and wide receiver at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, and said colleges that recruited him, including LSU, originally wanted him to work out at receiver.”Some of the teams had the intention of bringing me in as a receiver and trying me out at defensive back to see if I was able to do it,” Brooks said. “When I first got down here, they told me I would be playing receiver, but then they started having me go both ways in the summer and training camp. Eventually, it turned into straight defense, and I’ve been here ever since.”Brooks said he wasn’t keen on the idea of switching to defense at first because he enjoyed the spotlight of playing offense throughout high school, where he was elected team captain as a senior.”I felt like offensive players get all the recognition for what they do — scoring or a gain or a big play,” he said. “I felt like defensive players don’t get as much shine as they should unless it was for something bad they did like they got beat.”Now Brooks is making another transition — from cornerback to safety — in his second season in LSU’s secondary. Brooks’ high school coach Brian Basil said his athleticism and passion will make the road smooth.”Safety is a good spot for him,” Basil said. “He’s so fast, and he changes direction quickly. Ron has a good nose for the football, and he’s a great competitor, so I figured it would just be a matter of time before he worked his way into [a starting role].”Basil said when Brooks played quarterback his senior year, he put one of the most vicious hits on an opposing defender he had ever seen.”[Brooks] threw an interception in one of our games, and when the guy was running it back, Ron’s tackle was probably the hardest hit anyone on our team made the whole year,” Basil said. “He lifted the guy off his feet and put him on his back, and we recovered the ball.”Brooks said he looks to veteran members of the LSU secondary for advice in his shift from cornerback to safety this spring, including junior safety Chad Jones, who has noticed Brooks’ capacity for mastering a different position.”I always thought Brooks would play safety better than corner,” Jones said. “He’s fast and can cover a lot of field, and he has great vision and ball skills. He could develop into a No. 1-caliber guy.”Defensive coordinator John Chavis said Brooks has the talent to grow and fit into LSU’s new defensive scheme.”Safety is a bit more physical position, and there is more tackling involved,” Chavis said. “Ron has done a good job from that standpoint and also mentally by making adjustments and calls our safeties have to make. He’s a guy who can do more for us, but we’re obviously happy with what he’s done thus far.”In the second spring scrimmage, Brooks had an interception at safety, and he said he is adjusting well.”I prefer to play safety because I get more freedom to go out and show my ability than I do at corner,” Brooks said. “At corner, you always have somebody to guard, but at safety, you get the freedom to be back in your zone, watch the quarterback and play off what he does.”In the April 18 spring game, Brooks led the team in all-purpose yards with 77 on three kickoff returns. At safety, Brooks drew a penalty for pass interference on a pass to senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell, but Brooks claimed he was just doing his job as a defender.”The ball was very uncatchable,” Brooks quipped. “If a receiver or running back or anyone wants to come in that secondary red box, then they have to expect to get hit.”Brooks said the LSU defense has something to prove this season with a new coaching staff and a “hungrier” attitude — that its 8-5 performance under co-defensive coordinators Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto would not repeat itself this year.”I don’t feel like the secondary, or defense for that matter, was weak at all,” Brooks said. “We just didn’t capitalize on plays at times, and we did bad things at the wrong times … It really doesn’t matter how many defensive coordinators you have; you can have one or even three. It just depends on how you take the information and how we work with the coaches.”——Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]