McCallie Running Back Xavier Brooks Uses Football Abilities to Land Big Time Academic Ride at Tufts University

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) It’s always cool to see local football recruits sign with a big-time school.
It’s also cool to see local kids use their gridiron abilities to land a big-time academic ride.
Last week McCallie running back Xavier Brooks signed with Tufts University in Boston.
They feature a nationally recognized medical school, where Brooks will study to become an orthopedic surgeon.
McCallie head coach Ralph Potter says it’s not surprising football players want to study medicine, especially someone like Xavier Brooks.
Said Potter:”Well you know football players are smart too. He was somebody who cared about the people around him. He cared about the guys who were struggling on the team.”
Coach Potter says Brooks was a beast in the weight room, which translated to the gridiron.
Said Potter:”The best thing about him is his attitude, and the fact that he’s always gonna give you the same amount of effort. He’s very strong, and he’s a powerful runner.”
said Brooks: “I have to clear my mind to play football. I just go ahead and get all my homework and all my classwork. I get all that done, and then I can really focus.”
Signing day last Wednesday was a surreal moment for Brooks.
Said Brooks: “I’ve always wanted to use football as a vehicle to get me to college, but never make that my whole life. And football is doing that for me now, and it is doing exactly what I wanted to do.”
Brooks is headed to Tufts University in Boston. According to the school’s website, they took only 14-percent of their applicants in 2016, and their medical program is one of the nation’s best.
Said Potter: “If you go through there and have a certain GPA, and go to Tufts, you can end up. You don’t to take the MCAT’s. You know they let you in their medical school, which is a very prestigious medical school.”
Said Brooks: “On my visit a guy was talking about his brother who’s now a doctor, and he said his brother got into all the med schools he applied to, including Yale. The one place that turned him down was Tufts. I was extremely humbled for the opportunity to go to a school like that.”