BATON ROUGE, La. — When the Razorbacks traveled to LSU two weeks ago, both teams had more on their minds than football.
Just days before the game, LSU defensive back and former Razorback Greg Brooks Jr. had a large mass removed from his brain. Both teams wore Brooks' No. 3 stickers on their helmets, and both head coaches, Brian Kelley and Sam Pittman, took time throughout the week to talk about what Brooks meant to each program.
On Wednesday, Brooks' family announced that he had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer impacting around 350 people in the United States annually.
A statement from the hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Health, detailed what lies ahead for Brooks.
"For the last three weeks, Greg has been recovering from an extensive surgery to remove a brain tumor that was located between his cerebellum and brainstem.," Our Lady of the Lake Health said. "Greg's speech and ability to communicate have been impacted, and although he is responsive and working daily with physical therapy, he will face months of intensive rehabilitation. The surgery was successful in removing the tumor, and there is no evidence that the cancer has spread. As he begins rehab in the coming weeks, Greg's family and care team will determine a treatment plan in collaboration with nationally recognized specialists in this specific form of brain cancer. He has a long journey ahead and will need the full support of our community behind him as he faces this battle."
The Tiger Athletic Foundation has set up the Greg Brooks Jr. Victory Fund to help with medical expenses. Details on donating can be found here.
Brooks started 31 games across three seasons for Arkansas before transferring to play for his home state of Louisiana.