21 years old footballer doesn’t know how he’ll feel when Sunday finally comes—when he takes the field for his long-awaited Carolina Panthers debut. His brother, Jordon, and his mother, Jennifer Donovan, feel the same. And back in Hallettsville, Texas, their small hometown is holding its breath, buzzing with pride for the kid who made it big but never forgot where he came from.
Yet, as much as this moment is for everyone who’s supported him, Jonathon’s thoughts are fixed on one person who won’t be there to see it: his late father, James “Skip” Brooks. “We wonder all the time what Skip would say,” Jennifer said. Jordon paused before answering. Then, with a quiet laugh, he said, “I mean, I already know. He’d be so happy. So proud. I can only imagine how proud.”
For Jonathon, this isn’t just an NFL debut. It’s a tribute. It’s for his mom, who raised him to believe he could conquer anything, and his brother, his first teammate in endless childhood games on backyard fields and living room carpets. It’s for the teammates who believed in him and the friends who cheered him on. And most of all, it’s for his dad—the man who shared his dream, who showed him what it meant to fight for something, and who Jonathon believes has been watching over him every step of the way since his passing in 2022.
“I play for something bigger,” Jonathon said softly. “I pray for God, my family. Always my family.”
As he suits up on Sunday, carrying his father’s memory in his heart, the cheers from the stands and back home will be for Jonathon. But in every step he takes, he’ll be playing for his dad—for the man who would have been the loudest voice in the crowd, bursting with pride at the son who never gave up.
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