Rogers makes final preparations to enter school, says defense will be a force

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Tue Oct 09 20:08:14 GMT-04:00 2012

Even though high school graduation is seven months away, one of Clemson’s first commitments of the 2013 class is making his final preparations.

Three-star defensive end Dane Rogers out of Shelby (NC) Crest took the SAT Saturday, is trying to finish his classes strong, and stay healthy on the football field.

TigerNet spoke with Rogers Tuesday evening, and he said that he battled injuries and allergies in order to take the SAT before making the trip to Clemson for the Georgia Tech game.

“I took the SAT Saturday,” Rogers said. “It was pretty tough because I had a battle Friday night in my game. I was a little banged up. Allergies were kicking in. I was only able to get about five or six hours of sleep because I took the test in Gastonia, but luckily I managed to get up early enough and get a good breakfast. I think I did pretty good. Getting a good score on the SAT is the only thing that I have left to do. I am making straight A’s this year. I just want to finish strong in all of my classes.”

Rogers said that he went to Clemson for the Georgia Tech game to not only watch the Tigers play, but also take care of some unfinished business.

“I was actually down for the Georgia Tech game,” Rogers said. “I had to come down and talk to the coaches and get some stuff situated. I signed up for the [NCAA] Clearinghouse so that I can start getting all of the paperwork started.”

Rogers was very impressed with the way the Clemson defense responded to the challenge of Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense.

“It [the defensive effort] was great,” Rogers said. “It is a hard task to defend the triple-option. It’s a hard offense to get ready for in a week. The defense managed to do it right. They had a couple of missed plays and there were a couple of errors in the secondary. There was some miscommunication. When you play an offense like that, it’s all about playing assignment football. They made great adjustments and played well in the second half. They obviously had the huge safety. Overall, I thought it was a great effort.”

Rogers said that he has been blown away with the job that new defensive coordinator Brent Venables has done through six games.

“He has done a great job coming from Oklahoma,” Rogers said. “He has been able to really build the defense up. They were definitely slacking last year. They have progressed. They had that one tough loss to Florida State that I wish we could‘ve pulled out. They can’t look back, though. They just have to move on. He is doing a fabulous job, but that’s what he gets paid to do. If he keeps building the defense up, he will be rewarded for it.”

Rogers talks to the Clemson coaches on a regular basis, and their message is always to stay focused because the defensive line will be a force to be reckoned with for the next four years.

“They always tell me how much they need big defensive ends, and how big of an impact the defensive ends can have on the whole defensive line and the entire defense,” Rogers said. “They always tell me that they wish that me, Robert Nkemdiche, Elijah Daniel, and Shaq Lawson were there now. The next four years at the defensive end position, we are going to be flying. We have a big group of guys coming in.”

Rogers is always watching his future team play, and says that we will return to Death Valley for the Military Appreciation Day game against Virginia Tech a week from Saturday.

“I’ve been to several games since Clemson started recruiting me,” he said. “I watch them on television whenever they are away. I will be back down for the Virginia Tech game. And, for the away games, I’ll be watching on ESPN, the ACC Network, or whatever channel.”