Sam Rogers became the first fullback picked in the 2017 NFL Draft, with the Los Angeles Rams drafting him in the sixth round. Rogers played four seasons for the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Meet Sam Rogers, the Rams’ new TD-scoring fullback
The former walk-on is the highest-rated was the first fullback taken in this year’s draft.
Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images
Fullbacks are mostly known as blockers, but in his college career, Rogers accounted for 692 yards rushing and another 802 yards receiving, along with 11 total touchdowns.
You see, Rogers doesn’t just score touchdowns — he scores them in style. Most recently, in the Belk Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the 5’10, 230-pounder caught a one-handed touchdown pass like it was nothing.
He also had a beautiful wheel route touchdown reception against the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2015.
One of his more exciting scores wasn’t caught in the end zone. He threw it. Rogers completed a 13-yard touchdown pass ... TO ANOTHER FULLBACK.
“That was pretty perfect,” the receiving fullback, Steven Peoples, said via ESPN.com. “Not many people can say they caught a touchdown pass from another fullback. It’s insane. It doesn’t seem real.”
Rogers jokingly said that the Hokies’ starting quarterback last season, Jerod Evans, may want to be looking over his shoulder.
“I don’t want to get into a debate of whether I should be the starting quarterback, but I told Jerod to watch out,” Rogers said. “My completion percentage is really good.”
The former Hokie will be looking to make it in a league that doesn’t use fullbacks like it used to.
But there are some lasting figures who represent the position well in the NFL today, such as Jamize Olawale, James Develin, John Kuhn, Patrick DiMarco, Mike Tolbert, Kyle Juszczyk, and Marcel Reece. What has helped some is their versatility, which Rogers says he has.
“There’s times I’ve lined up as an H-back. There’s times I’ve lined up in the slot. I’ve lined up out wide. I’ve lined up as the lone running back. I’ve lined up as the fullback,” Rogers said via Greenville Online. “They have to put something down. I guess that’s just the two letters they put there.”
Even Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, whose Clemson Tigers faced Rogers and the Hokies in the ACC Championship last December, explained how dynamic fullbacks can be nowadays.
“The days of just guys getting in the I-formation, and here’s the fullback and they’re going to run the power play and then run the toss 10 times, you don’t see that as much,” Swinney told Greenville Online. “There’s still need for that for sure, but a lot of teams have gone to a little bit more of the hybrid tight end(,) guys that can do those same things but can also be on the line, are athletic enough to split out and create some matchups in the passing game.”
Best of luck to Rogers with his NFL career.
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