TCU QB Rogers getting healthy: ‘I didn’t see any evidence that he’s not ready to go’
Signs are positive for TCU quarterback Justin Rogers’ road to recovery.
He worked out last weekend with Jeff Harper, a pastor from his hometown of Bossier City, Louisiana who also runs a quarterback academy.
Harper worked with Rogers during his high school career, before Rogers sustained a severe knee injury his senior season that limited him much of his freshman season at TCU. Rogers had nerve damage from the injury, and developed a drop-foot condition.
But, as far as Harper is concerned, Rogers looks like his old self.
“He looked really, really good,” Harper said. “He does not look like he’s coming back from an injury at all. We talked about the whole issues he was having with his foot, the injury he had was so severe that the nerve has taken a lot of time to regenerate.
“But he looked really, really good. He wasn’t hesitant or worried about his legs. I put him through a battery of drops and directional movements, throwing off platforms, multiple arm angles where he couldn’t set his feet … I didn’t see any evidence that he is not ready to go.”
TCU starts spring ball on Friday, and Rogers may be given the full-go for it. He had been limited in practice last season because of the drop-foot condition.
Rogers, a four-star recruit coming out of Parkway High School, played one series in the Cheez-It Bowl in late December. That was his only game action of the year as he’s eligible for a redshirt.
Rogers getting closer is a positive step for the program. The Frogs planned to enter spring with freshman Max Duggan and graduate transfer Alex Delton as the two primary quarterbacks taking reps.
Mike Collins is still recovering from a season-ending injury.
But Rogers is in high spirits and, according to Harper, close to his old form.
“Right now, he’s so focused on being able to play at a high level and getting everything worked out,” Harper said. “He’s a perfectionist. Our conversation on Saturday focused on, ‘What can I fix? What can I do?’ You don’t see that with many highly-touted quarterbacks.
“He receives instruction well and asks for feedback. Saturday was a cleanup session -- let’s get ready for spring ball.”
Harper worked out Rogers for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Harper doesn’t consider himself a “quarterback guru” -- he doesn’t make a living at it -- but does have a background and knowledge on throwing mechanics.
That’s primarily what the session focused on. Plus, Harper has seen Rogers from a young age and is a valuable set of eyes given his history with him.
“Justin is a long strider, it’s something he’s working on, trying to shorten that up,” Harper said. “That’s what we worked on. We wanted to get really good push off the back foot, use the core and hips.
“He’s already got ridiculous arm talent, arm velocity. He’s not going to have any problems driving the ball. He was throwing it 60-plus yards into wind gusts and he was throwing it on the money.
“He’s not going to have a problem throwing the football.”
That should be music to TCU fans’ ears, but Harper acknowledged all of this happened in street clothes. In other words, what TCU coach Gary Patterson would call “playing basketball” or NFL coaches may refer to as the “underwear olympics.”
Still, it’s a step in the right direction for Rogers.
“I don’t want to put more pressure on him than he already has, but I didn’t see a guy who is not ready to play,” Harper said. “It is different, everyone looks great in street clothes, but Justin looked good.
“It’s definitely encouraging to see him back up and doing what he loves.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 7:30 AM.
