Rogers commits to Nicholls

Since hiring Tim Rebowe, Nicholls State University has recruited awfully local.

This week, they plucked another fruit off a Louisiana-grown tree.

Vandebilt Catholic halfback Brennan Rogers announced this week that he will playing his collegiate football with the Colonels – a significant get for a Nicholls recruiting class that is limited in numbers because the 2017 was young, which limited the number of scholarships the team has to give.

Rogers, 5-foot, 10-inches and 175 pounds, rushed 174 times for 1,263 yards and 10 touchdowns last season – one of the elite playmakers in the area.

He’s also prolific in the passing game, owning 19 receptions for 174 yards with a score.

Rogers said to know that he will be a Colonel in the future is a feeling that’s hard to describe. He called the opportunity one of the greatest gifts he’s ever been given.

“The feeling I have going into this coming football season is straight excitement,” Rogers said. “I met a lot of the players on the team and they were all very accepting and they made me feel at home. I can’t wait to be on the team with them.”

In Rogers, the Colonels are getting a good one – a true diamond in the rough.

At Vandebilt, Rogers’ accomplishments were always a little underpublicized because of the team’s prolific passing game.

But coach Jeremy Atwell always told anyone willing to listen that the team’s success started on the ground.

And Rogers was a big part of that, working between the tackles for tough, hard-nosed yardage as a three-year starter for the Terriers.

“Look, when we’re at our best, it’s when we’re running the football and we’re stopping the run,” Atwell said during the 2017 season. “Our running game is really efficient and I think a lot of the work that we do there is what sets up big opportunities for us in our passing game. The two work hand-in-hand.”

As a junior, Rogers shared the workload with Michael LeCompte, rushing 119 times for 892 yards and 13 scores – all while helping the team to a dominant regular season.

This past season, Rogers and LeCompte were supposed to share the load again, but when LeCompte went down, the burden fell all on Rogers.

He delivered, posting a big-time season for a Vandebilt team that won 7 games and made the Division II State Playoffs.

Rogers said the best thing about being a Terriers was that he and his teammates built something special – a foundation that he hopes the team carries into the future.

Before the past two seasons, Vandebilt football was in transition and was struggling to keep up with the other power programs in the local Class 4A district.

“I was involved in the making of a program at Vandebilt and that is such a cool thing to say that I was a part of,” Rogers said.

But now, the challenge is to carry that momentum into the Nicholls’ locker room and do things to help the Colonels thrive during his eligibility.

In addition to succeeding on the football field, Rogers is also an accomplished soccer player, currently enjoying a successful senior season on the pitch for the always-prominent Terriers program.

He said through soccer, he’s working on his conditioning, which will be a plus when he gets to Nicholls.

Once that’s over, he said he has plans to add muscle to his core in hopes of lifting his weight from 175 to closer to 200 pounds so he can withstand the licks that will come from linebackers at the next level.

“Right now, for me, it is soccer season, so we do a lot of running,” Rogers said. “My endurance is great. My speed is increasing and my legs are solid. Away from soccer, I take in as many calories as possible and I consistently workout to maintain my strength and weight.”

A small part of Rogers is also taking time to just enjoy the ride and appreciate the blessings that he’s been given.

Rogers said has a good bond with Rebowe, adding that the coach’s honesty in the recruiting process was a huge factor in getting him to Nicholls.

“I know that with him as my head coach, I am in the right place,” Rogers said.

The halfback said he’s followed the Colonels’ progression over the past few seasons, adding that he’s proud to be a part of that process going forward.

He confirmed that the Colonels are recruiting him as a halfback, but added that he’s willing to play wherever he has to in order to help the team win.

“Nicholls has created its program,” Rogers said. “They have a way they do things. I’m going to do what I can to be the best running back I can possibly be, along with getting in on special teams. I can’t wait to see how much this program enhances my game.”

Brennan Rogers

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