CFL.ca
James Rodgers had every intention of going “Old School” with his “Welcome to Canada” end zone celebration. His first TD, he vowed to me on the eve of his CFL debut, he’d simply toss the ball back to the referee.
But after two years in NFL limbo on the practice roster with the Atlanta Falcons, where kid brother Jacquizz was making a name for himself, the former Oregon State Beaver star had straight-armed, tackle-busted his way to a rare Montreal red zone score from the Ottawa 19.
His new Alouettes teammates mobbed him before he could get the ball over to the referee.
Mr. Rodgers, welcome to your new neighbourhood.
“It felt great to be out there competing with the guys,” the solid 5’7” multi-purpose back admitted after a mid-week practice gearing up for the Ticats. “I feel really excited about that.”
More than 40 years ago, a Heisman Trophy-winning receiver/returner named Rodgers dashed north of the 49th Parallel, and Marv Levy’s Als lobbied for the rewriting of punt return rules to create the 5-yard halo zone so the self-proclaimed “Ordinary Superstar” Johnny Rodgers could be unleashed.
JR Superstar would frequently showboat the last 5 or 10 yards to the endzone running backwards.
Now, the “Nouveau JR” has left his remarkable football family behind and arrived with a TD in his CFL debut and hopes he’s found a home.
“I have a brother I played sports with all my life and I was fortunate enough to have an uncle that played in the NFL (Michael Lewis, former Pro Bowl safety Eagles, 49ers, and Rams),” admits Rodgers, now 25. “Just being able to get coached up by him and talk football, and sharing football moments with my brother—it’s a big thing.”
Brother “Quizz” (14 months younger) followed James to Oregon State after they starred in Texas high school ball. The younger Rodgers hit the NFL first though, helping relieve Big Brother (“Quizz” called him “Quon” a shortform of James’ middle name) of the burden of responsibility he’d carried since their father had gone to jail.
“That bond with my brother was very important,” confirms James. “Any time you have a sibling to go through ups and downs with it’s always nice.”
Sibling rivalry remains though. While admitting the Falcons will do well this season, James insists he’s even faster than his younger brother.
“Of course me,” he chuckles. “We’re very close. We started playing together in Little League. When we were younger we always had to be on the same team or we’d be fighting. But as we got older we learned to work together.”
“Then high school, college, and I was fortunate enough to play with my brother in the NFL.”
GM Jim Popp was intrigued. He put both James and Jacquizz on his Negotiation List. Popp frequently explores football bloodlines. Duron Carter and his cousin Kenny Stafford are teammates. Almost a decade ago, in the post-Pringle Era, Popp recruited former NFL 1,000-yard rusher Robert Edwards and brought his younger brother Terrence to the CFL as well.
Rodgers has won the coaches’ trust by running scout team reps, the chores paying off with opportunity to get in on offence, not just replacing the injured Larry Taylor on punt and kickoff returns.
“No matter what I’m doing, being on the field is a blessing.”
Rodgers can empathize with Taylor, who insists his knee injury will not be a career-killer. “JR” had a serious knee injury in college, tearing up his chances of being drafted. That brush with adversity has made the first taste of CFL success all the sweeter.
“I think it does,” he insists. “Going through the knee injury I had to go through a lot of adversity and I think that right there made me stronger in itself. I mean, I feel like nothing can hurt me worse than what I had to go through to get here.”
Like his team, Rodgers still has major strides to take. “Field the ball” (on the fly) is the message being drilled into his earhole by coaches during special teams drills.
Ironically, James’ longest punt return came on a play where he had to chug back for an over-the-shoulder catch. His 7.0 average surpassed Taylor; his 63-yard total established the single-game high for Alouette returners in 2014.
He’s expected to learn how his first strides and angles can force coverage units to shift and bend their lanes.
He’s already proven to be a quick study of the offensive playbook. Rodgers’ fourth quarter TD came on a sweep that was faked all game, but he claims is similar to the kind of plays he’s been running since high school. The score moved Montreal into a tie with the REDBLACKS for last place in red zone touchdowns. The Als’ 33% TD rate equals the Eskimos for a share of last place.
There’s still work to be done, and another family debt to be honoured. While James’ father was in jail during his formative years, his uncle Rodney Williams became a mentor.
“He was everything, father, coach, biggest critic…so he was a man of all things and he always looked out for us and made sure we were on the right track, whether it was football or school.”
“My mom and my uncle, that’s all we needed…and to keep my brother under my wing.”
