After the Texas A&M Aggies came away with a 45-42 win over the Razorbacks, they now head into Baton Rouge to face an LSU team that sits at 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play with losses to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Ahead of the game, Dalton Brooks was able to sit down with the media and talk about his personal growth this season, and what he expects from himself as the year continues.

“For me, I want to grow as a communicator,” Brooks said. “You know I want to be more of a leader on the defense, you know, make more of a stand. When all 11 is out there, everybody’s looking at me, I’m the safety, I got to make big decisions for the defense.”

So far this season, Brooks has been great on the defense as he sits at 26 tackles on the season, including 20 solo takedowns, a sack and a forced fumble. Brooks was able to record his first sack of the year against Arkansas, where he took down Taylen Green late in the fourth quarter.

LSU Whit Week

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks (40) gestures toward the crowd after a turnover during a college football game between Ole Miss and LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. / Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the defense not playing their best game against the Razorbacks last weekend, they head into an LSU team who is coming off of a loss to Vanderbilt, meaning they will be hungry for a win, especially during a night game after the Aggies took care of business last year against the Tigers.

“Nussmeier, he’s more of a smarter quarterback,” Brooks said. “He can read the defense more, things like that, and he’s a good quarterback. So if you give him the look, he’ll take the easy shots every day.”

After making a lot of misreads against Arkansas’ offense, the defense struggled to make stops as they allowed a season-high 42 points, including two touchdowns within the last four minutes of the first half.

“You know it was on us,” Brooks said about the defensive let down. “It wasn’t anybody like in particular, none of that. It was just the whole defense as a whole, you know. So we come together, we talk about it as a defense, as players.”

Against LSU, the defense has to step up, as the Tigers have been able to move the ball down the field efficiently this season. At night in Baton Rouge, the Aggies have a true test ahead of them as they play their second straight SEC road game in a very hostile environment, as LSU is hungry for a win.