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Kim Kim Foster-Tobin/kkfoster@thestate.com/
George Rogers
GoGamecocks.com
Five questions with George Rogers
Posted on 09.02.09
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Rogers, 50, works for USC’s Department of Student Affairs and the Athletics Department, as well as running his George Rogers Foundation. He and wife Lynn live in Irmo; son Brandon, 28, is a computer engineer in Atlanta, while daughter LaShun (26) and son George Rogers III, aka “Trey,” live in Columbia. Rogers has two grandchildren.
WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A RUNNING BACK?
I guess I first wanted to be a running back when I was 9 or 10, when I found out the running back gets the football all the time. I scored my first touchdown, and people told me what I did, and I found out what I was supposed to do. Right at that moment, I knew I’d get the ball. That’s why I wanted to be a running back.
The guy I looked up to, my cousin, Napoleon Rogers, I wanted to be like him so bad, and he was a running back. I used to go up and feel his muscles, so I wanted to run like him.
WHO HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER AND WHY?
It would have to be Cecil Morris, my high school coach. I was running one day in high school, kind of tip-toeing, not running hard, and I remember getting hit. He came down there, grabbed me by the facemask, picked me up and started shaking me, saying, “By God, you’re going to run this football, you’re going to run it right.” I remember crying because my guys were laughing at me. I got down in my stance, and he kicked me square in the butt (laugh) and I got mad, I started running over anybody who moved. It was like, “Bring it on.”
After practice, he walked up and said, “Son, that’s how I want you to run the football. That’s what you’ve got to do to be a running back. I want you to carry this (football) with you everywhere you go.” That’s when I started being a somewhat running back.
WHAT TRAITS MAKE A GREAT RUNNING BACK?
Well, you’ve got to have vision and be able to see the hole. Then you’ve got to have acceleration, make it happen. You’ve got to hit the hole. And most of all, you’ve got to have some speed to outrun those guys (on defense).
It starts on the offensive line. If you’ve got offensive linemen who can move their (defensive) men, and then you got to see where you’ve got to go, and then you’ve got to be able to hit that hole and outrun some people.
You’ve got to be tough, too. Because you’re going to get hit, and often. But to me, saying that, I’ve been on both sides of it, when you get hit you might fumble sometimes and then you feel sorry for yourself and don’t run as strong as you used to.
A good thing happened to me when I played Georgia (in 1980) and I fumbled (costing USC a chance for a go-ahead score in a 13-10 loss). The next week we played The Citadel, and they were gang-tackling me. One of the coaches said, “Get your (butt) over on the bench,” and my roommate Percy Reeves was running up and down the field.
Our long-snapper came over and said, “You better get back in there, you’re going to lose your job.” The coaches told me when the “real George Rogers” showed up, let them know. So I got on the phone and said, “The real George Rogers has returned.” And (running backs coach) Bob Brown said, “Well, get in there and show me.”
It’s funny what they say to fire you up. I went in, had a pretty good day. The coaches can touch that button and you turn it on. (Brown) said, “Just be yourself and run hard. Running backs fumble. Things happen.” That was a good lesson for me.
BESIDES YOURSELF, WHO ARE/WERE YOUR TOP RUNNING BACKS OF ALL TIME AND WHY?
You have to say Jim Brown. Gayle Sayers was a good one, Earl Campbell, Barry Sanders and if I had to go nowadays, the guy from the Chargers (Ladanian Tomlinson) is a good one. Duce Staley wasn’t bad, either. Eric Dickerson was a good one, and John Riggins — he had power, speed, I tried to run like him (when Rogers went to the Washington Redskins) but I couldn’t; he was a little tougher than I was, ran a little harder.
The one thing they all had? Toughness. You’ve got to be tough if you’re a runningback.
BESIDES THE HEISMAN TROPHY, WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST MOMENT OR GAME AT USC?
My best game, we played N.C. State at home and I didn’t play that much, but the line was playing so good. I think I ended up with three touchdowns and only played three quarters. We played a pretty good game that night, won kind of convincingly, but the way we rushed the ball was just great.
Probably the best game was against Wichita State, we won 73-0 and I only played a quarter. I was thinking, “Man, this is easy!” (laugh) Then the other guys came in and I got to stay on the sideline a lot.
The best moment? They retired my jersey (as a senior) and that was a good thing, but I hated it because I knew I was going to be through with college. Coach (Jim) Carlen was like my dad and I had a lot of time to spend with other players, so I didn’t miss all my college fun.
I’m glad I came back and got my degree from USC. That might be my best moment. I knew that was important to coach Carlen for me to do that, and every year he’d say to me, “Son, get back in there and get that degree.” He stayed on me, and I finally did in 1987. I’m proud of it.
(When he was being recruited), coach Carlen came up to me and said, “Son, I know a lot of people a lot of people are after you, they’re giving you stuff. But I’ve got two senior running backs (Kevin Long and Clarence Williams), so if you want a chance to start your freshman year, come to South Carolina.” When he said that, I knew I was in here.
— Bob Gillespie
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