Aaron Lafette Brooks (born March 24, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Virginia and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. After one season with the Packers, he was a member of the Saints for six seasons, where he led the franchise to their first playoff victory in 2000 against the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams. Brooks also became the first NFL quarterback to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions in his first career postseason start. During his final season, he played for the Oakland Raiders. Brooks retired in 2007 as the Saints' leader in season and career touchdown passes. For his accomplishments with the franchise, he was inducted to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 2014. Early years Brooks lived in a public housing project in the East End area of Newport News. Mentored by Coach Tommy Reamon, Brooks played high school football and graduated from Homer L. Ferguson High School in Newport News. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Virginia (UVA), from which he graduated in 1999. College career Brooks enrolled at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1994 and was a redshirt as a true freshman. He was a back-up to Mike Groh in 1995. He competed with fifth year senior Tim Sherman, whose father Tom was the wide receivers coach, for the starting quarterback job in 1996. The Cavaliers were returning defensive players such as Jamie Sharper, James Farrior, and Ronde Barber. The offense was led by running back Tiki Barber. The coaching staff made Sherman, who had played well against Michigan and Virginia Tech in 1995 after starter Mike Groh went down to injury, the primary quarterback instead of the inexperienced Brooks. Nonetheless, Brooks received playing time in nearly all games and was the primary quarterback in a few. Inconsistent quarterback play by both Brooks and Sherman led to an underachieving season, and Virginia fans still debate the quarterback play of the 1996 season. Brooks was the starter in 1997. Both Brooks and the team struggled in the early part of the season but surged late to finish the season with a 7–4 record. In 1998, the team got off to a strong