Matt Rodgers (born January 8, 1969) is a former

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 ...

player for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

from 1988-1991. He was the quarterback who started for the Hawkeyes in the 1991

Rose Bowl game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...

and won the

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confe ...

award in 1990.

Early life and education

Rodgers was a three-sport star at Walpole High School in Massachusetts. His father, Jimmy Rodgers, later became the head coach of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. Jimmy Rodgers was named the MVP of the

Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team is part of the University of Iowa athletics department. The Hawkeyes have played in 28 NCAA Tournaments, eight NIT Tournaments, won eight Big Ten regular-season conference championships and won the Big Ten ...

team in 1964 and 1965. Rodgers took a recruiting trip to Iowa at his father’s request, and he wound up committing to Coach

Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now know ...

and the Hawkeyes.

Career

Rodgers’ career at Iowa got off to a rocky start. His only pass as a freshman in 1988 was intercepted on a fake field goal, and in 1989 the Hawkeyes missed a bowl game for the first time in nine years. As a junior in 1990, Rodgers threw for 2,228 yards and 15 touchdowns while running for nine more touchdowns. He helped lead Iowa to the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

title and a berth in the 1991 Rose Bowl. Rodgers was named the

along with his teammate, Nick Bell. In the Rose Bowl, Rodgers threw for a touchdown and ran for two more touchdowns in a 46-34 loss to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In 1991, Rodgers was the first team All-Big Ten quarterback for the second straight year. Despite missing two games with a knee injury, he threw for 2,275 yards and 14 touchdowns. Rodgers helped lead Iowa to a 10-1-1 record in his senior season, and Iowa finished the year in the top ten in the final national rankings. He was drafted by 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. ...

in the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Matt 1969 births Living people Iowa Hawkeyes football players