Neece finds role with A&M football program
By Sam Waller
With his personal and family history, it’s not too big of a surprise Albany native Brooks Neece found a way to be involved in college football.
Neece, a 2022 Albany graduate and one of four brothers to play for Lions coach Denney Faith, caught on as a student video assistant with the A&M football program this season, culminating in a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl.
While being involved in the bowl game, which was played Friday, Dec. 27, required Neece to miss spending Christmas with his family, it was the chance of a lifetime for him.
“The Las Vegas bowl was a great experience for me. I got to stay 6 days in Las Vegas for free and watch my favorite team play one more time,” Brooks said. “It really felt like a reward for all the time I put in this season.”
Neece, who is in his third year as a sports management major at A&M, spent his first three semesters in college looking for a way to become involved with the program before getting his foot in the door.
“It was a dream to work with A&M football, but I didn’t have any way to get into it, and it’s pretty hard to get in if you don’t know someone,” he said. “I had a friend who made a post on social media of him working, so I reached out to him and said if a spot ever comes open, I’d love to work. He texted me over Christmas break last year that he had an opening, so I interviewed and ended up getting it.”
Neece joined the video crew for spring and continued in that role during preseason practices.
“During the week, me and about nine other students go out to practices and film drills and the team period,” he said. “After practice, we go back to our office to edit and upload the film.”
His duties increased once games began.
“On game days, I’m on the sideline for home games handling the iPads,” Neece said. “I collect iPads from the coaches and upload film onto them.”
That led to Neece accompanying the Aggies for a few road games in Southeastern Conference play.
“There are five people who have consistently traveled to the away games, then six or seven of us rotate,” he said. “I went to the Arkansas game in Arlington and to the Auburn game. For the away games, we don’t take as many people, and my job is different.”
Filming games away from Kyle Field was quite the learning experience for Neece.
“I stand up on the sideline balcony and film the scoreboard,” he said. “It’s a crazy place to get to watch a game.”
It gets even crazier when home fans realize members of the enemy contingent are in their midst.
“I’ve had to deal with some rowdy fans, but that’s a different thing,” Neece said. “Some of those fraternity brothers don’t like opposing teams.”
Neece has also learned more about the technical side of the game that he wasn’t necessarily aware of as a high school player.
“From filming, I learned individual position drills take skill to do correctly,” he said. “In high school, we just kind of did them to get them over with. Watching all these Power 5 college athletes doing it, it’s clear that when you put in a lot of work on position-specific drills it can really help you develop as a player and an athlete.”
He has also learned how to adapt on the fly if something goes wrong on game day. And there are lots of things that can go wrong on game day.
“Sometime, the iPads on the sidelines don’t connect,” Neece said. “Before away games, I’ll help go through them to make sure everything’s working. There’s been a few times where, 30 minutes before kickoff, they’ll stop working for some reason. It turns into a scramble to get them back on.”
Probably the biggest lesson learned, Neece said, has been to concentrate on the task at hand instead of rooting the Aggies to victory.
“Our opening game against Notre Dame, when the team was making its entrance, I was on the sideline, and it was something I’d never got to experience,” he said. “They brought back our old, original entrance and I was hyped up, acting like a cheerleader. My boss had to pull me aside and tell me I’m not a fan anymore, I’m a member of the staff and can’t be acting like a fan. I’ve gotten better about it, but I still don’t do that very well.”
Such situations can be especially awkward when they occur on the road.
“During the away games, we’re up there with the other team’s camera crew,” Neece said. “There have been a couple of times we’ve done something good and I let out a little yell. My boss has to get onto me because we’re supposed to keep it professional around the other team’s workers, which is difficult to do.”
Neece hopes the experience gained as a member of the film crew will help him attain his ultimate goal of getting into coaching.
“I love doing this, but it’s kind of a step in the process,” he said. “My plan after this season is to try to get into student coaching, which is extremely exclusive. If that doesn’t happen and I stay in video, that would still be an ideal position for me to get to work around sports.”
