Third-generation Horns player showcases his strong work ethic
AUSTIN — The name admittedly is a heavy one to lug around the Forty Acres.
Brockermeyers have populated this campus for decades, from Kay in the 1950s to Blake in the ’90s. Texas is where Blake, an Allamerican offensive tackle who went on to play 136 games in the NFL, met his wife, Kristy, and it’s where their second-born son,
Luke, has bloomed.
The third-generation Brockermeyer also, as one might imagine, plays football. And 62 years after his grandfather played for
Darrell Royal, the family tradition lives on through the Longhorns’ new starting middle linebacker.
“I think he’s a great example of it’s a clean slate,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “We’re gonna play the best players that give us the best chance to be successful and win, and he’s earned that. And I think, with that, he’s earned a lot of respect of his teammates.
“He’s a hard-nosed kid, he’s smart, he’s got a high football IQ, he works at his craft. And he recognizes and diagnoses things really well, so he communicates well with the other guys on the field. I couldn’t be more happy for the guy to have this opportunity and to play the way he’s been playing for us.”
Luke wasn’t a coveted five-star recruit like younger brother Tommy, a five-star freshman offensive lineman at Alabama. And he wasn’t a high school All-american or All-state selection like Blake was at Arlington Heights.
Brockermeyer joined Texas as a walk-on in 2018. He’d originally committed to Rice, and Oregon State showed interest late in the recruiting process, but playing in burnt orange just felt right.
So Brockermeyer decommitted from Rice in February 2018 and enrolled at Texas four months later. Instead of joining the Owls as scholarship player, he was another big body with a flashy last name and a steep climb up from the dregs of the depth chart.
“Was just a huge fan growing up,” Brockermeyer said Monday. “I just remember watching Vince (Young), watching Jamaal Charles, watching Colt (Mccoy). And when I got the opportunity to walk on here, it really kind of opened my eyes. I took a visit and realized that this was the best place for me.”
Brockermeyer hadn’t started a game before this season. He’d contributed mostly on special teams early on while flashing potential as a depth option at linebacker.
But in 2019, a few weeks into the season, then-coach Tom Herman surprised Brockermeyer with a scholarship at a team meeting.
For Brockermeyer, receiving one of the program’s 85 scholarships was not only a reward for the grind, but a validation of his growth and potential to uphold the family legacy.
“There was definitely times where, you know, I didn’t know if this this day would come,” Brockermeyer said. “But I’m glad that the coaches had the trust in me. I always wanted to be here and wanted to stick it out, even though it wasn’t looking great at some points. But at the end the day, I’m glad I stayed, for sure.”
Brockermeyer’s first start was as much a reward for Texas as it was for himself. He ranked second among Longhorns with a career-high 10 tackles and added 1½ for loss against Louisiana-lafayette.
The tackles quintupled his previous career total. More importantly, Brockermeyer and weakside linebacker Demarvion Overshown (13 tackles) cast a fieldwide net of sorts, catching any ball carriers unfortunate enough to run into their web.
“Watching film, you can definitely tell that at the beginning he was a little, ‘OK, I’m here shaken up,’ ” Overshown said Monday. “But as the game went along, I looked to the side of me, and he looked comfortable making checks, making calls like we at practice. So as the game got going, you can tell he got more and more relaxed and more comfortable.”
This week, Brockermeyer gets a chance to travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to face Arkansas (1-0) in the revival of a bitter old Southwest Conference rivalry that both his grandfather and father experienced firsthand.
The former walk-on’s presence will be vital for No. 15 Texas (1-0). And for Brockermeyer, it’ll be further confirmation that his play, not his name, earned this chance.
“I hate saying a guy’s an overachiever because we achieve
what we’re capable of,” Sarkisian said. “But if you want to label Luke an overachiever, I think there’s something to be said about that kind of personality in the middle of your defense. And that starts to permeate to the rest of those guys on defense, playing smart, playing fast, playing physical and putting yourself in the best position successful — that’s what Luke does. Everything he’s done here with us he’s earned.”