Da'Rick Rogers turns life around, eager to catch on in NFL

Robert Klemko, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

When he closes his eyes, Da'Rick Rogers sees football plays in the form of road maps, and receivers' routes like exits on a highway. Certain off-ramps are blocked when facing certain defensive coverages, and some straightaways are smooth sailing.

The NFL draft prospect is described as something of a Beautiful Mind by several who have coached him. As a freshman wide receiver at Tennessee in 2010, he would sometimes zone out during two-a-day meetings or leave his playbook under his desk. And when his coach put him on the spot and tested him on the plays, he came up aces.

"Da'Rick is the second-smartest football player I've been around," said Charlie Baggett, former Tennessee assistant head coach and wide receivers coach, "and (Hall of Famer) Cris Carter is the first. Da'Rick doesn't know how to be a pro like Cris Carter was, but he can immediately comprehend things the normal guy his age takes time to learn."

Rogers attributes his ability to memorize playbooks to the arcade racing games he played as a child. But Cruis'n USA didn't show him a road map to life as a college football player. He was booted from Tennessee after two standout seasons following repeated failed drug tests.

And he made his way through a season at Tennessee Tech, a Football Championship Series program and several rungs down the competition ladder, with the stipulation that he take weekly drug tests and attend 100% of his classes. He did. He passed. And now he's projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick in the NFL draft later this month.

Rogers, 21, is nearly back on top, where he says he belongs.

"It was humbling," he said. "It was a test. I had to ask myself: Do I really want to work this hard to get back to where I'm supposed to be?"

Rogers began his collegiate odyssey as a blue chipper — a five-star recruit who had the physical promise to join likely first-round choice and UT receiver Cordarrelle Patterson the first day of the draft.

But Rogers had a mouth, and a fist, and a flair for drama. He signed with Tennessee after verbally committing to Georgia, then went back and forth with Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo on Twitter. That was the first red flag.

The second? In July, before even seeing the field, police said Rogers was involved in a 2 a.m. brawl outside a bar in Knoxville, Tenn. An off-duty police officer was rendered unconscious. Rogers was involved in two reported arguments with coaches, and two seasons in, after catching 67 passes for 1,040 yards as a sophomore, he was suspended indefinitely by coach Derek Dooley after multiple failed drug tests for marijuana.

Rogers said he hasn't smoked marijuana since his time at Tennessee.

"To see what I gave up, seeing those guys who would kill to play at Tennessee," he said, "it changed my work ethic and the way I do things."

He transferred to Tennessee Tech, 100 miles west of Knoxville, where his high school teammate, Tre Lamb, was quarterback. The staff felt so good about his football acumen, they put him in a game three days after he arrived on campus last year. Later that year, he had 12 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns — in a half. The level of play was beneath Rogers' abilities, but Tennessee Tech coach Watson Brown says he didn't meet the Da'Rick Rogers he read about in the newspapers.

"I don't know what went down in Knoxville, but there was not an incident with him in Cookeville," Brown said. "He had to learn a little bit and become a team guy. He didn't come in with any of that 'me-me-me' stuff."

Baggett hopes the maturation is complete.

"He's just got to grow up, mature and learn how to be a pro," Baggett said. "That's the challenge for him, because he doesn't understand how everything works. He thinks he can show up and do what he's been doing and everything will be fine and he'll find his way out of a jam. But it's not going to work that way."

Rogers has been working with a sports psychologist at home in Calhoun, Ga., and has met with six teams, including the Buffalo Bills.

"I've learned over 35 years of coaching that the light bulb comes on for different kids at different stages," Baggett said. "I think the light bulb's starting to come on and I've got my fingers crossed that it happens before it's too late."