Ohio State Football: In-depth preview of freshman star Noah Rogers

As the days get hotter, there is a feeling of anticipation for football season. Now that the NBA season is officially over, we sports fans are impatiently waiting for the start of football season. The Ohio State football season can not get here soon enough!

We are continuing our recent series of previews of freshmen. We have done writeups about Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, and Jelani Thurman. Today we will continue on the trend of offensive skill positions and talk about a young man I am very excited to see. Noah Rogers, of Rolesville, North Carolina.

Rogers, according to the official Ohio State roster is 6’2 194 pounds. He is from Rolesville, North Carolina, and was pursued by many high-level schools. He was ranked as the number one player in the state of North Carolina. Rogers had 25 offers, but there were a few that were closer than others. The biggest threat to Ohio State landing this high four-star receiver was a school that you rarely hear Ohio State battling for in a football recruiting battle. That school was North Carolina State.

North Carolina State has been one of the ACC’s better schools when it comes to academics, and athletics to a certain degree. It is a very good academic school, but they aren’t known for being a great football program like the Ohio State football program.

They were able to make it close because Rolesville is not far at all from NC State. Many of his friends and teammates were going there as well. It isn’t terribly hard to see how the Wolfpack made this a tough decision.

However, Coach Brian Hartline’s excellent recruiting and development track at Ohio State was able to land Rogers and he enrolled this past winter.

So what skill set does Rogers bring to the table? Well, you can’t teach size, and at 6’2 you definitely have the size to be a great receiver. During his time in high school, he had some great numbers. He averaged over 20 yards a reception. His best season came as a junior when he had over 1,400 yards and 22 touchdowns. He finished his career with over 3,200 receiving yards. So what can we expect from him this year?

Well, probably not much as a starter. He is in the most talented receiving room in the country by far. You have two high-level players in Marvin Harrison Jr, and Emeka Egbuka who will most likely hear their names called in the first round of the NFL Draft next spring.

So Rogers gets the opportunity to learn from these guys and keep working on his game. He can have this season to learn the playbook, keep working on his route tree, and put on some more muscle.

Rogers will probably get reps in some blowouts this year, and those will be valuable reps. He can learn at full speed and in low-pressure situations. This year is not a make or break, it is simply a developmental year. He then can have another full winter offseason and spring practice.

By this time next year, he will most likely be one of the names in talks for a starting spot in the rotation. If Rogers shows out when he gets the chance this season, he could really solidify himself as the next man up.

I am a big believer in this young man and look forward to seeing him on the field soon!