Darrell Brooks attended Moreno Valley High School in Moreno Valley, California where he played football, basketball, and ran track. On the football team, Brooks started at both free safety and receiver. As a senior he served as team captain, leading the team with 109 tackles and 7 interceptions on defense. On offense he caught 33 passes for 511 yards and 8 toucdowns. He was named team MVP and received all-region, all-league, all-county, and all-cif honors following the season. He was a highly recruited prospect who accepted a scholarship to play at Arizona where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. He started ten games at corner the following season, totaling 50 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 pass break-ups on the year. He was named second team academic all-pac ten for his performance in the classroom. As a sophomore he switched to free safety, totaling 79 tackles, 1 interception, and 3 pass breakups, on his way to honorable mention all-pac ten honors. He was named team captain going into his junior season where he once again started at free safety. He finished the season wiht 73 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and a career high 9 pass break-ups. He was named second team all-pac ten for his play as a junior. Brooks was forced to miss spring practices in 2005 while recovering from shoulder surgery. He returned to lead the team in tackles with 93 stops on the year. He also had 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and 2 pass break-ups his final season at Arizona.

Darrell Brooks has a great deal of experience, having started the past four seasons in the Arizona defensive backfield. He is an intelligent player and a very good leader. He is a tough player who has good instincts. He puts himself in position to make plays and always seems to be around the action. He is an aggressive run defender who has good range and rarely misses a tackle. He is a hard hitter and a very good open field tackler. He does a good job of keeping the ball in front of him and he rarely gets beat deep in coverage. Brooks lacks ideal speed and athleticism for a safety. He lacks great ball skills and doesn't make many plays on the ball. He played free safety at Arizona but the fact that he can be a liability in coverage will most likely force him to switch to strong safety at the professional level. He has a chance to be a late round pick or sign as an undrafted free agent.