Second-year guard Brandon Brooks answers questions in this "spice of life" Q&A.The O-Line dines out a lot together. What's that about? "It's kind of an every Thursday tradition. One of us picks the restaurant each week. We'll go there and meet, have a good dinner and just be around the guys. I picked Mr. Peeples in Midtown. It has a nice vibe and good food. My favorite place to eat in Houston in Del Frisco's. Steak-wise, I get like a filet of prime rib. I'm a huge macaroni and cheese fan so I always get the truffle macaroni and cheese there with bacon. It's to die for."
You're from Wisconsin. Are you missing the winter weather up there right now? "I do not miss the winter. I miss the seasons, but as far as the cold and the snow, no. I grew up in it every day. It's one thing if you've never been there and you're visiting for a day or two, but if you're living there and having to drive through and shovel it every day, it's just annoying."
Your alma mater, Miami of Ohio, has a reputation as being "preppy." Is there any truth to that? "We can't help that we're educated and we dress nice. What more do you want from us?! "Preppy" is not the right term. We dress fresh on a daily basis. It's known as J.Crew U. It was a culture shock when I went there. It was the complete opposite from my high school, so I had never been immersed into that before. My first semester was just a culture shock. I'm glad I went there, though."
I bet you popped your collar. "That's frat star status, not me."
What did you study at J.Crew U? "I studied psychology and got my degree. I'll throw that out there. It's framed, the first thing you see when you walk into my place. It wasn't like I was looking for something where you can skate by. It came pretty naturally to me, and I actually enjoyed learning about it. I did well with it, and I minored in business. Our business school is ranked really high so I had to get something. I wasn't gonna be able to pass calculus and stuff so let's be real here, I got the minor."
Would you like to pursue something in the field of psychology after football? "I'd want to go back and get my masters, get an MBA. I'd probably do finance or something. As a career I'd probably want to do something with handling money. Like a personal financial advisor. "
You and Duane Brown volunteered to drive the elderly to the polls on election day. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience? "Chester Pitts asked us to do it and we were glad to do it. When we showed up, the seniors were happy to see us. Took pictures, signed autographs and took them to go vote in two white short school buses. They had a great time. It was fun."
I see from your Twitter feed that you're a country music fan. "I listen to a lot. I like Chris Young. It'd be pretty cliché for me to say Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. I like Jason Aldean better than Luke Bryan. I like Randy Houser; Ben (Jones) put me on that. I mean, Blake Shelton "Honey Bee," I listen to that, too."
So do you and Ben get together and just listen to country music? "Well, Ben introduced me. It's weird, my dad listened to country music growing up, wears cowboy boots every day, drives a pick-up. He grew up in Mississippi. I was always like, 'Man, I'm never listening to country music. I can't believe he listens to this. This is ridiculous.' Got down here, I would always ride with Ben because I didn't have a car at the time and all he would play was country. I was like, 'you know what, I'm gonna give this a chance.' I gave it a chance, and it wasn't bad."
Do you have any music ability or hidden talents? "No, no singing ability at all. But I can do a cartwheel. You'd be surprised."
