Daniel Brooks had everything going for him in 2003. He was rated the top football player in Tennessee and one of the top linebackers in the nation.

Some even dubbed him the next Al Wilson when he signed with the University of Tennessee.

At the time, Brooks had plenty in common with the former UT captain who helped lead the Vols to a national championship in 1998. Both went to the same high school, Jackson Central-Merry. Both played the same position, middle linebacker.

That's where the similarities ended.

Brooks left Knoxville on May 4. His UT career was done in by the same intensity that fueled Wilson's playing career. The problem was that Brooks' anger was much more evident off the field than on it.

"You can't judge a book by its cover," said Brooks, who will transfer to Jackson (Miss.) State this summer. "You've got to read it. You've got to meet the person and get to know the person."

Few fans got to know Brooks as a person or a player. Brooks played outside linebacker and defensive end but rarely saw the field as anything more than a special-teams contributor in his three tumultuous years at UT.

The consensus of fans on talk radio or Internet chat boards: Brooks was a waste of talent. You can't disprove that by the numbers. He had 11 tackles in 21 games.

"I've learned that people are going to say what they're going to say," Brooks said. "I don't listen to it."

Angry Young Man

UT coach Phillip Fulmer doesn't think Brooks' recruiting reputation led to his demise.

"He had no more pressure than anybody else," Fulmer said. "I hope he does well."

Brooks declines to go into specifics of his past altercations. He does, however, recall the moment that his UT career came to an end. That came when he was involved in a fight with basketball players Jemere Hendrix and Andre Patterson.

The altercation stemmed from a disagreement at a party during the previous weekend. Hendrix, who was on a short leash, was dismissed. Patterson was suspended but later returned to the team.

Brooks, who had been told he had used up his chances, immediately realized his fate.

"I knew it in the fight," Brooks said of being dismissed. "That's why I really didn't fight back."

Too often, Brooks did fight back, or fight first.

Brooks said some of the friction involving football players and the community is often caused by former high school athletes who weren't offered the opportunity to continue their athletic careers.

"Some of them are just jealous," Brooks said. "They just do it to get you into trouble, especially if they know you have a quick temper."

Brooks isn't ready to admit he has a quick temper as his past would lead most to believe.

"I adapt to my environment," he said. "I can in some cases (have a quick temper). Some things I have zero tolerance about."

Some would say Brooks' anger stemmed from the loss of his father, who died in a car wreck when Brooks was only 3 years old.

"It did a little bit," Brooks said, "but being around my grandfather helped a lot. Some people say a true defensive player has to have an angry mentality."

New Brooks?

Brooks is ready to be a winner again. He said his attitude changed when his son, Daniel Brooks Jr., was born in May 2005. The father is ready to prove the doubters wrong.

"A lot of them think I'm a waste of talent," Brooks said of fans. "They'll find out."

As Brooks begins a new chapter at Jackson State, he isn't thinking about the NFL, as he once did. Brooks is thinking about getting his degree, raising a son, getting married and returning a favor to his grandfather.

"My grandfather raised me," Brooks said. "He taught me everything I know."

Brooks' grandfather used to recall a familiar piece of advice. "Everything happens for a reason," he used to say.

Now, Brooks has a reason why things went so wrong at UT. His dismissal allows him to be closer to his grandfather, who has been diagnosed with cancer and has a preexisting heart condition.

"It's all starting to work out for the best," Brooks said. His grandfather lives in Charleston, Miss., about two hours north of Jackson.

Brooks also will be closer to his wife-to-be, who lives in Memphis. The two plan to marry next year after sharing custody of their son even while living on opposite ends of the state. Brooks said he also is 75 percent done with his bachelor's degree in sociology.

Closer to home could be a good thing for Brooks, who drove home three times a month when he first arrived at UT because he missed his family.

Brooks missed his mother, missed his grandparents and missed the outdoors.

"That's all I do in Mississippi," Brooks said of hunting and fishing. "That's where I go to clear my mind.

"I didn't start going out (partying) until I got to Knoxville."

Brooks maintains that he's more mature than when he arrived on UT's campus. Now, he's got a second chance at football and life.

"The coaches told me to come be myself," Brooks said of Jackson State's newly hired staff. "They're not going to hold my past against me. My coach told me that he knows what kind of person I am from high school."

Brooks sees his new opportunity at Jackson State as a way to turn things around. He has said he's determined to make the issues of the past motivate him for the future.

"That's going to make me strive harder," he said. "I've got a lot on my chest."

Brooks paused when asked if he would even be willing to return to UT in the extremely unlikely event that he was ever asked.

"I'd think about it," he said, "but with my grandfather being sick, I'd rather be home."

Everything happens for a reason.