CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Late in Tuesday’s practice, Jonathon Brooks took a swing pass from Bryce Young and made a couple of nice cuts along the right sideline before ending up on the ground.The play might have lacked the sizzle of Brooks’ Texas highlights, which Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales pointed to as recommended viewing for anyone who covers or follows the team. But Tuesday’s catch-and-run was another step in Brooks’ comeback from two ACL surgeries on his right knee.Making it through the team’s first full-pads practice of training camp is not the end goal for Brooks. But for a second-round pick who didn’t participate in camp the first two years after the Panthers drafted him, it represented something.“I think the back of my mind, obviously as a football player you’ve got to get back out there and be able to learn how to take hits, learn how to get your contact balance right back,” Brooks said. “And first day of pads, it was good.”Brooks participated in OTAs and minicamp during the spring, but said he hadn’t yet opened up the jets to full speed. But Brooks “happily” reported Tuesday that he is running without caution and feels like he’s back to 100 percent.Running backs Trevor Etienne, left, and Jonathon Brooks speak during mandatory minicamp. (Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images)Canales agreed, saying: “I don’t see any hesitation in his play. He’s pressing runs. He’s hitting the ground (and) popping up. So that’s what I like to see.”While Brooks was rehabbing, the Panthers cycled through a couple of veteran running backs in Miles Sanders and Rico Dowdle, the latter of whom rushed for 1,076 yards last season while sharing carries with Chuba Hubbard.Dowdle signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, and the Panthers are counting on Brooks to step up as the complementary back to Hubbard, who’s been a key part of Brooks’ support system.“I came in with an injury and he helped me. He took me under his wing and really guided me (on) how to rehab, how to practice, how to learn, how to take notes and all that,” Brooks said. “And then especially when I got hurt again, he was right there with me. He helped me throughout the whole way.”Brooks played in three games late in the 2024 season before re-injuring his knee on a non-contact play at Philadelphia. He was sidelined all last year when the Panthers won the NFC South as one of the league’s most surprising teams.So other than his 12 touches (nine carries, three receptions) two years ago, it’s been a while since Brooks has shown off the form that made him one of the nation’s leading rushers and a dangerous receiver at Texas before his first ACL tear in 2023.“It’s a fun YouTube watch if you ever get a second, to just go back. They’ve got a bunch of his plays and I would say half of them are on screens and checkdowns in the flat, where he’s able to make somebody miss,” Canales said. “When he gets a bead on it, he can finish. He’s got speed. So that’s a big part of his game. While we know we can utilize that part, first and foremost he’s a running back.”Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips is in his first Panthers camp since signing a big free agent contract in March. But it didn’t take Phillips long to notice that whenever he’d see Hubbard at Bank of America Stadium, Brooks wouldn’t be far behind.“Him and Chuba, they’re kind of inseparable when it comes to their training regimen,” Phillips said. “They’re pushing together and ultimately iron sharpens iron, and competition breeds success. So I think having them two there is going to be great for both of them.”Hubbard has become known for his post-practice sessions with tight end Tommy Tremble. The two are almost always the last to leave the practice facility after catching hundreds of passes from the JUGS machine.Brooks found out that Hubbard’s strength and conditioning workouts also are intense. “He trains pretty hard,” he said. “So it was good for me to tag along and learn how to build my body right for training camp and the season.”When talking to reporters after an OTA practice, Brooks said he thought he was faster than Hubbard. Without prompting Tuesday, Brooks revisited the subject in the way of public reckoning.“Unfortunately, I know in OTAs I said I was faster than Chuba. I’m just gonna go ahead and get this out of the way,” he said. “This summer we ran. We didn’t race. It was part of the workout and he recorded a higher top speed than me. So I take my comment back: I’m not faster than Chuba.”In a side-by-side race, maybe it’s a different result. But the Panthers aren’t interested in having their top two backs engage in a sprint-off. They’re just hoping Brooks can stay healthy and give Young another playmaker in the backfield.It was a big summer for Brooks, who proposed to his college girlfriend during a trip to Banff, Canada. And while Tuesday was one benchmark in his recovery, there are more to come, like getting tackled for the first time in nearly two years.“I think as a human, it’s good for you to reflect, to know where you come from. It also helps for motivation to where you’re going,” Brooks said. “And for me, being back out there, it definitely is a confidence booster to know that I’m fully healed. And I can take hits again and I can be out there with my teammates full speed, having fun, cutting, doing everything that I need to do to help the team.”