Justin Rogers' Patient Progress at Kentucky Football Preseason Practice

Justin Rogers was one of the most talked about recruits in Kentucky football history. Since he arrived on campus in 2020, that talk his quieted to a whisper. And that’s not a bad thing.

One of the most sought after recruits in America, Rivals ranked the Oak, Mi. lineman as the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. A five-star prospect, Kentucky beat out Alabama, Georgia, LSU and every other traditional powerhouse program to sign the highest-ranked recruit of the internet era. Upon arriving in Lexington last summer, Rogers faced a few hurdles.

Early Obstacles

Before joining the Wildcats Rogers underwent hip surgery. That was just one physical setback Rogers faced. After dominating opponents for years, he had a Big Blue Wall beating him up everyday. He had to learn a few things before playing on Saturdays.

“How the game was, the violence of it, stunts and all of that,” but Rogers said that wasn’t the most demanding part of SEC football.

“Really taking coaching, for real, that’s the thing I had to learn is to really take the coaching instead of trying to talk back to the coaches, just take it, run with it and try to be better everyday.”

Learning under the tutelage of first-year defensive line coach Anwar Stewart, the former Wildcat and 10-year vet of the CFL did not play play politics. Rogers had to learn the hard way, just like everyone else.

“He’s definitely tough, tough on the whole room. We want to be the No. 1 defense in the country, so he goes out everyday and pushes us to our limit,” Rogers said.

Rogers’ Promising Start

Rogers took his medicine from Stewart and received significant snaps as true freshman. He played in seven games, about nine snaps in each, totaling nine tackles and a tackle for loss in the win over South Carolina. PFF gave him a grade of 60.4 in the pass rush, above average for a true freshman.

“He’s coming,” Stewart told KSR. “I know you guys have big expectations for him, but the media and the fans gotta be patient with Justin. It’s the SEC. Everyday he has to come out and learn and continue to produce and sharpen his skills. He’s explosive. He’s doing some really good things. He’s just gotta keep coming. He’s young. He’s gotta keep learning how to strain and keep pushing himself, and if he does that, he’s going to be fine.”

Rogers is taking reps at noseguard, a crowded position for the Wildcats. Josaih Hayes has been impressive in training camp, taking reps with the twos behind Marquan McCall. Rogers could follow a similar trajectory as his former Oak Park High School teammate that was also once the top-ranked recruit from the state of Michigan.

“Look at Marquan. Marquan was behind Quinton for three years. Quinton leaves and now Marquan is the guy. It takes time,” said Stewart. “I’m not saying it’s going to take him three years. That’s on him. The harder he works, the more he becomes a student of the game, I think the quicker he’ll understand the position.”

Some prolific recruits work their way onto the field right away. Some are forced into action too early, like Matt Elam, and never reach their full potential. Rogers is on a path to greatness, just one that takes a little longer than some may expect.

“Justin’s going to be fine. You guys are going to see a lot of him on the field,” said Stewart. “We just gotta keep developing our young men.”