Chris Rodriguez tells Jim Rome 'Kentucky just felt like home' following career game in NFL

It’s been a good week for Chris Rodriguez, who went from being waived by the Washington Commanders to being re-signed and following it up with a career-high 94 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries just days later.

The former Kentucky star was one of the stars of Week 13 in the NFL, helping lead the Commanders to a 42-19 win over Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans. After the performance, Rodriguez was interviewed on The Jim Rome Show to talk about his career day and how he managed to stay ready for his moment after being released and brought back a number of times before he finally earned his shot.

When that time came, he made the most of it.

“It was rough, you kind of don’t expect these things to happen. When it does, you have to be ready for it. I felt like I did a good job when I was taking those practice reps and really keying in on the offensive scheme for the week,” Rodriguez told Rome. “… Just being ready. My dad always tells me, ‘You don’t know when your moment is gonna be, so when it arrives, just be ready.’ I felt like when my number was called, I was ready.”

The conversation wasn’t only about his big day in the NFL. He also talked about his time in Lexington and what that experience as a Wildcat meant to his life and career.

“Oh my goodness, man. It was fun,” he said. “It was fun, brings back so many memories. It got cold sometimes, but man, that place is like my second home. When I was going through the commitment process trying to figure out where I wanted to go to school, Kentucky just felt like home to me. When I got there, man, all of the coaches, all of the players — most of the players I played with, we’re brothers till this day. We still keep in touch, most of them I do. It was just fun, man.

“The environment, we were going through some ups and downs, but once we got on our roll, the crowd came out and it was really fun.”

"Kentucky just felt like home to me."@CROD_JR on why he loved playing and living in Lexington. @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/JtWrpDomnx

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) December 4, 2024

Listen to Rodriguez’s complete interview below:

The former Wildcat has picked up 397 career rushing yards and three touchdowns in 18 total games for the Commanders in 2023 and 2024. He had 247 yards and two scores as a rookie and has picked up 150 yards and a score in year two.

The star running back finished his collegiate career ranked third on Kentucky’s all-time rushing list with 3,644 yards and became just the fourth player in program history to eclipse the 3,000-yard rushing mark. Rodriguez also rushed for 32 career touchdowns, good for second-most in school history, with his 35 career all-purpose scores good for third-most. He finished with an average of 6.2 yards per carry with 20 100-yard games, good for third and first in school history, respectively.

Time to keep that momentum rolling as a pro.