Former UA assistant Brooks battling cancer
It was sad to learn last week that former Arizona Desert Swarm defensive line coach Clarence Brooks is undergoing chemotherapy to treat esophageal cancer. Brooks, 64, is the defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens, and has been in the NFL since 1993. During the UA’s 1991 spring softball game, an annual staff outing, Brooks broke his kneecap. The first man to his side that day was Dick Tomey, who told Brooks to make his recovery a priority and that staff members would pick up his recruiting and coaching duties. When fall camp resumed, with future Hall of Famer Rob Waldrop at nose tackle, Arizona led the NCAA in total defense. Chicago Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt noticed and hired Brooks after the 1992 Sun Bowl. The man Tomey hired to replace Brooks in a staff shuffle was Jeff Hammerschmidt, a former UA All-Pac-10 safety who will return to Tucson on Dec. 29 as the special teams coach of Colorado State for the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
