Da'Rick Jamal Rogers (born June 18, 1991)
, UTSports.com. Retrieved: February 7, 2013. is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
wide receiver. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
, and signed with the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2013.
Early years
Rogers was born in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. He initially attended
Darlington School
Darlington School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Rome, Georgia founded in 1905. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and is divided into a Pre-K to 8 division and an Upper School divi ...
in
Rome, Georgia
Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...
, before transferring to
Calhoun High School after his sophomore year. During his junior year, he had 66 receptions for 1,300 yards and 11
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s,
helping lead Calhoun to the Class AA finals.
[Calhoun High's Da'Rick Rogers, Nash Nance Make Football Commitments]
" ''Rome News-Tribune'', 2009. Retrieved: February 27, 2013. As a senior, he had 84 receptions and 22 touchdowns, and set a single-season state record with 1,647 receiving yards, again helping Calhoun reach the state finals. Following his senior season, Rogers was named to MaxPreps.com's Small Schools All-American Team, as well as Georgia's "All-Decade Team" for the 2000s.
Rogers was ranked as the second best wide receiver recruit, and the ninth best overall recruit, by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
in 2010, and was labelled a 5-star recruit by both Rivals and
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
.
He originally committed to the
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
, but in February 2010 switched his commitment to the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
, where he joined Calhoun teammate Nash Nance. In the days following his decommitment, Rogers engaged in a war of words on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
with Georgia safety
Bacarri Rambo
Bacarri Jamon Rambo (born June 27, 1990) is a former American football safety. He played college football for the University of Georgia, where he was recognized as an All-American, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round ...
.
College career
As a true freshman in 2010, Rogers played in all 13 games for the Tennessee Volunteers. He finished the season with 11 receptions for 167 yards and two
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
. He also had 117 rushing yards on 16 attempts, and returned 12 kickoffs for 298 yards.
As a sophomore in 2011, he started all 12 games, and led the
SEC in both receptions (67) and receiving yards (1,040). He was second in the conference in touchdowns with 9. At the end of the season, he was named a first-team All-SEC selection. On August 23, 2012, it was announced that Da'Rick Rogers had been suspended from the Tennessee Volunteers indefinitely for a violation of team rules, though no specific reason was publicly announced. Rogers subsequently admitted to failing three drug tests while at Tennessee.
[Derek Harper,]
2013 NFL Combine: Da'Rick Rogers Not Hiding from Troubled Past
" CBS Sports, February 22, 2013. Retrieved: February 27, 2013.
After his suspension at Tennessee, Rogers transferred to
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
.
On September 22, 2012, Rogers caught 18 passes for 303 yards in Tennessee Tech's loss to
Southeast Missouri State, setting single-game school records for receptions and receiving yards. In his lone season at Tennessee Tech, he caught 61 passes for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns.
[Thomas Corhern,]
TTU Football: Rogers Declares for NFL Draft
" ''Cookeville Herald-Citizen'', December 14, 2012. He also passed 10 drug tests.
Following the 2012 season, Rogers was awarded the "Elite Wide Receiver Award" by the College Football Performance Awards for his efforts in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Professional career
Pre-draft
On December 14, 2012, Tennessee Tech announced that Rogers would forgo his senior year and enter the
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
.
At the 2013
NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, Rogers turned out one of the best overall performances, finishing in the top five in several categories, including the
3 cone drill
The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by Scout (sport), scouts. It is most commonly seen at the N ...
, the
20-yard shuttle, the 60-yard shuttle, the vertical jump, and the
broad jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
.
[Doug Kyed,]
NFL Combine Live: Da'Rick Rogers Delivers Best Overall Performance Displaying Speed, Agility, Explosiveness
" New England Sports Network, February 24, 2013. Retrieved: February 27, 2013.
Buffalo Bills
Rogers went undrafted in the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
. He signed a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
contract with the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
hours after the draft. On May 10, 2013, Rogers participated in his first day of Rookie Minicamp with the Bills.
Rogers was released on August 26, 2013.
Indianapolis Colts
Rogers signed with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
practice squad on September 2, 2013. He was promoted to the active roster on September 19, 2013, but was waived just a few days later on September 24, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 25.
He was again called up to the Colts' active roster on November 11, 2013.
Rogers made his NFL debut on December 1, versus the Tennessee Titans, playing 13 snaps but was not targeted for a pass. On December 8, in a road game against the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
, he recorded 6 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Rogers was released from the Colts on September 29, 2014 after it was announced he had been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI).
Kansas City Chiefs
Rogers signed a reserve/future contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on January 7, 2015. He was released on June 16, 2015.
Toronto Argonauts
Rogers signed with the Toronto Argonauts on April 11, 2016.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Da'Rick
1991 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
Canadian football wide receivers
American players of Canadian football
Buffalo Bills players
Indianapolis Colts players
Toronto Argonauts players
Tennessee Volunteers football players
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football players
Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Calhoun, Georgia
Darlington School alumni
Calhoun High School alumni