Khamari Brooks

Physical Profile

Measured 6-3.5 and 234 pounds on campus at Georgia — heavier than his 220 listing and already at a viable SEC playing weight for a stand-up edge, with room to carry 250-255 without losing bend. The trait that separates him is a near +6 wingspan relative to height, which is the frame indicator SEC staffs weight most heavily for the Jack: it gives him length to stack-and-shed offensive tackles, disrupt throwing lanes when he drops, and win the half-man relationship on the arc without having to fully clear the corner. Legitimate knee bend and ankle flexion let him play with a low pad level out of a two-point stance despite the height. The basketball background is real and shows up as change-of-direction and body control rather than as a bullet-point cliché — he was the only athlete in Georgia to earn AJC first-team all-state in both football and basketball in the same year.

Play Style

An athletic, upfield-leaning edge who wins early in the down. He aligns wide in a two-point stance, threatens the outside shoulder immediately, and uses length to keep tackles' hands off his frame — then converts to power when a tackle over-sets. On film the tell is his knee bend: he can flatten to the quarterback without decelerating, which is what generated the high hurry-to-sack ratio (24 hurries to 10 sacks) rather than pure effort pursuit. In the run game he sets a firm edge and works down the line with good pursuit angles. Where he separates from other prospects in this range is what happens when he's asked to drop — he is fluid opening his hips and comfortable in space, an obvious byproduct of his tight end and basketball reps. Effort and motor are consistent; this is a fundamentally clean, uncomplicated evaluation with a straightforward development path.

Strengths

• Two-way rush arsenal from a two-point stance — quick first step to threaten the edge, but with functional natural power to convert speed to bull, which is unusual at this age. 247Sports' Hudson Standish specifically graded him as a 'well-rounded pass-rusher who can win with speed and power,' and the 10-sack/24-hurry junior line reflects the pressure volume, not just the finished production.
• Genuinely rare coverage utility for the position. His tight end/receiver tape (27-517-8 as a junior, 4 receiving TDs in six senior games) is not a novelty — the hands, tracking and 'superb' short-area redirect translate directly to zone drops, spot-drops and matching tight ends, which is exactly the ask in the Jack role and the hardest thing to teach a converted rusher.
• Edge integrity in the run game. He plays with the length and hand placement to set a hard edge and spill rather than get reached, which is why the projection is a three-down defender instead of a sub-package rusher. GACA Class 4A co-Defensive Player of the Year and Region 8-4A co-DPOY on a 15-0 title team.

Areas to Improve

• Health and reconditioning ahead of everything else. The October 2025 hip fracture ended his senior season and cost him roughly three months plus a full spring of edge-specific development. It did not require surgery, but hip mobility and explosive first-step reacceleration are the exact qualities a hip injury attacks — his early Georgia evaluation should be judged on how the get-off looks post-rehab, not on junior film.
• Pass-rush plan and counter development. He is currently a first-move winner leaning on burst, length and power; his hand-fighting is strong but not yet sequenced. He needs a defined second move off the speed rush (cross-chop, long-arm-to-swipe) and a more consistent rush-angle discipline against SEC tackles who will not lose to the initial step the way 4A tackles did. Related: he must add functional playing strength in the anchor to hold up against SEC-caliber down blocks at 250+.
• Split-rep development cost. Playing both ways in high school means his reps at the position he'll actually play are fewer than a comparably ranked full-time edge — expect a longer technical ramp on run-fit discipline and stunt/game timing.

College Projection

Redshirt-likely as a true freshman in 2026, both because of the hip rehab and because Georgia's outside linebacker room is deep enough not to force him. Realistic timeline: special teams and situational third-down rush reps in year one if healthy, meaningful sub-package rotation as a redshirt freshman, and a starting Jack candidate in years three and four. His floor is high — the coverage ability and edge-setting mean he has a role even if the pass rush plateaus — and the fact that Georgia identified him as a scheme-specific 'looks-like-a-Georgia-defender' body rather than a best-available take suggests a defined developmental plan. Landing spot reduces bust risk: Athens has the best track record in college football of converting exactly this body type into productive Jack linebackers.

NFL Outlook

Legitimate Day 2 upside with a realistic path to the first round if the frame and rush plan both mature. Standish's evaluation flagged him as 'a versatile front-seven defender with NFL Draft upside,' and the profile checks the boxes NFL teams pay for at the position: 6-3.5 with plus wingspan, sub-package coverage ability, and the athletic base to keep adding weight. The gap between a Day 2 and Day 1 outcome is entirely counter-move development and whether he can anchor at 255 without losing his get-off. The hip fracture is not currently a medical red flag — no surgery, no recurrence reported — but it will be scrutinized at the combine and any second hip event would change this projection materially. Earliest realistic draft entry is 2029.

Best Fit

A multiple-front defense that plays him standing up as a wide-9 or 5-technique-adjacent Jack — precisely what Georgia runs, which is why this is a near-ideal scheme match rather than just a hometown recruiting win. He needs a staff that will use his coverage ability instead of reducing him to a hand-in-the-dirt rusher, because dropping eight to ten times a game is what makes his skill set uniquely valuable. He would be miscast as a true 4-3 defensive end with no coverage responsibility, and he would be wasted in a two-gap read scheme that asks him to hold ground instead of attack half-a-man. Programs with a demonstrated record of adding 20-25 pounds to a long, bendy high school edge over three years — Georgia and Alabama, the two finalists, being the obvious archetypes — maximize him.