Holding a fourth-quarter lead in Week 1 against the Houston Cougars at NRG Stadium, Texas Tech looked to ice the game.
Sophomore running back Tahj Brooks made a quick jump cut at the line of scrimmage and exploded through the hole, racing to the endzone for a 44-yard touchdown. As he scampered for his second score of the day, ESPN announcer Mark Jones boomed over the broadcast, "It's Brooks Time again!"
"Brooks Time," better known to Texas Tech fans and soon to Bengals fans as "Tahj Time," finished with 164 yards on the ground in the win. Brooks said his signature touchdown celebration, gesturing to his wrist as if to point out the time, took on a life of its own after the 2021 victory.
"Every time I score a touchdown, you probably see me hit that or a little dance, but that's my go-to touchdown signature right there," Brooks said. "The fans loved it, still to this day they call me Tahj Time."
Brooks left his mark on Lubbock, finishing his collegiate career as the program's all-time leading rusher with 4,369 yards on the ground, ranking top five in Big-12 history. He became the third running back in conference history to tally over 1,500 yards in a season at least twice.
His illustrious career as a Red Raider nearly happened in Oklahoma: Brooks committed to the University of Tulsa and current Bengals RB coach Justin Hill his freshman year of high school. He flipped to Texas Tech, and the rest is history, but Brooks said his current position coach doesn't harbor any hard feelings for his decision.
"He was like 'Now I got you for real, you can't just go up and decommit and leave me, now you're stuck with me for a minute,'" Brooks said. "It's just something that's special, it was very surreal for me."
Hill and Brooks talked throughout the pre-draft process, and Hill put in a good word with Bengals' brass on Brooks' behalf.
"I cherish that the most because that draft call changed my whole life," Brooks said. "I can't thank him enough."