Several weeks ago, the Badgers 7-on-7 camp was being held and top players from across the Southeast were present for the prestigious camp. One of the names was Chester Rogers.
Rogers, a 5-foot-11 receiver from Lee High School (Huntsville, Ala.), suffered an unfortunate injury at the camp, as he broke his jaw during the respective drills. He would be sidelined six weeks.
Fast forward to last weekend in Lexington, and Rogers was making his first camp appearance since his injury. He does acknowledge that he was a little nervous going into the camp, but in the end he felt well about his performance.
“I’ll be honest, I was a little iffy about the camp,” he began. “But after the camp, I felt like I did exceptionally well. I wasn’t 100% and I still think I did great.
Rogers believes he was somewhere in the 70% range, but as you will see in the video below, his performance did not resemble an athlete that had been sidelined for a month.
The rising senior says that his ability to get off the ball is a strength that provides him the ability to put up the numbers he does.
“I’m also quick; I’m not that fastest person, but my quickness makes up for it. That helps with my route running and why I am so good at my routes.
In fact, Tee Martin, the main coach Rogers interacted with at the camp, was very impressed with how well Rogers stuck his routes.
“He told me ‘Most guys round off their routes, but you stick them good. That’s a good sign.'”
Rogers really enjoyed the experience with Coach Martin, but advancing into more of his recruitment, the receiver may hear from Steve Pardue as well.
“Coach Pardue is my local recruiter, but Coach Tee (Martin) said that both of them were going to stay in touch with me.”
“I really enjoyed getting to know Coach Martin. We built a great relationship in the beginning,” Rogers said excitedly.
He is also excited in learning more about Kentucky after his initial visit to the campus and Lexington.
“I really liked the coaching staff and all the facilities. The atmosphere was really welcoming. I’m definitely interested in learning more about what UK has to offer.”
After this weekend, Rogers even has a handle on who he thinks is recruiting him the hardest:
“I would say Kentucky is recruiting me the hardest after this weekend,” he said. “Coach Martin is one of the main reasons for that, too.”
However, Rogers, who holds an offer from Tennessee Tech right now, does not have a list. He does have a handful of teams interested, though.
“I have no specific order, but besides Kentucky, I like Memphis, Vanderbilt, UAB, Georgia, and Tennessee.”
Because he was disabled and put on hold from attending camps, Rogers has a very busy summer ahead of him, filled with visits and camps.
He plans to showcase his skills at other camps, including UAB, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and South Alabama.
Today (Wednesday) Rogers camped at Memphis, and Friday he will take his talents to Atlanta and compete at Georgia Tech.
With his broken jaw behind him, Rogers will hopefully be able to take some steps and have the ability to make a decision before he plays his first game of the season.
The Huntsville native even has a few things he wants to specifically look at in a college.
“Academics are really big for me. I want a good academic school; program stability is another thing that sticks out to me, too; the coaching staff is going to be a big part in my decision as well.
But the biggest thing Rogers thinks that will play a role in his decision is based on his ability to come and help his respective team.
“I would like to come in and help play right away in some aspect of the game.”
Rogers has the ability to return kicks, punts, and he even has played some defensive back in his life of football; he looks to be a very valuable asset in the future and could be an early lean for UK.
[youtube_sc width=430 url=BmC0Zzgx5zA]
