For Rogers, the desire to deliver goes far beyond first downs, back to their days in Miami, and months that he lived in Bridgewater's home to find a place to hold himself together while his mother struggled with a serious sickness.
"She has AIDS," Rogers told WDRB's Pat Doney. "Has had it since I was eight years old. And it's been pretty tough on me because, you know, like, her mindset is not in a normal mind state so she goes in and out and she'll talk about different things, and it just bothers me sometimes, but I've grown and learned how to deal with it."
For stability, Rogers sought Bridgewater. The two already had a bond formed on the football field, and were seen often together at the home of one or the other. But during this time of crisis Rogers says the route he ran to Bridgewater's home altered the course of his life.
"We stayed together," Rogers said. "My mom was going through some things, my family was going through some things and I didn't want to be in the mix of that, because I probably wouldn't be here today."
Rogers returned to his mother's home before his high school graduation. Today his mother, Tranae Jackson, says she's doing well, keeping up with her medication. When WDRB reporters visited her home while the Cardinals were in Miami for a road game at Florida International, she was in high spirits and spoke of her son with smiles and pride, the walls of the small home in Miami's Brownsville neighborhood adorned with pictures of Rogers from peewee league through college
When it came time to make a college decision, after Randy Shannon had been let go at Miami, where the pair had previously committed, there was little doubt they'd wind up in the same place. Rogers committed to Louisville and said the conversation with Bridgewater went like this: "Well you want to go to Louisville? And Teddy said, 'It's on you. I'm gonna go wherever you go.' And I'm like, 'Let's go then, they've got a great coaching staff and we can build that program.' And Teddy said, 'I'm with it.'"
on the run
