Rogers may yet become a Cougars quarterback

PULLMAN – After twice quarterbacking the state’s most storied high school football program to the state championship game, Justus Rogers is finally learning how to play the position.

OK, maybe that’s not fair to Rogers, who has spent the past few years going to the same offseason camps and seven-on-seven passing tournaments as the other superlatively abled high school quarterbacks.

But at Bellevue High School, Rogers captained a run-heavy, misdirection-reliant wing-T offense that might ask him to pass as much in a year as a Washington State quarterback does in about six quarters of football.

And therein lies the great mystery surrounding Rogers. Even though no other quarterback in the state – save, perhaps, Eastside Catholic’s Harley Kirsch – played on bigger stages or was more successful at leading his team, many still don’t believe Rogers will end up at quarterback.

Scout.com and 247sports.com, two of the four major recruit-rating services (ESPN and Rivals.com are the others) do not rank Rogers among the class of 2016 quarterbacks, but merely list him as an athlete – a catchall position that could mean he ends up anywhere from the offensive line to punter.

That some schools recruited Rogers to play defense and that the Cougars continued to recruit other quarterbacks even after he told the coaches he was coming to Pullman – like most schools WSU typically only recruits one passer per recruiting class – does lend some validity to the idea that Rogers could switch positions.

In 2013, the Cougars signed another athletic quarterback, Isaac Dotson, who made 34 tackles while playing eight games as a nickel back and safety last season.

His high school coach, Butch Goncharoff, says that the Cougars recruited Rogers to throw the ball and insists he can be successful.

“He threw really well in our system, and he was out a lot,” Goncharoff said. “That’s the hard part. Our league was not the strongest this year, and he was out of the game pretty early. And he can run; he’s a pretty special athlete. I think they got a steal, and I know they do as well.”

Goncharoff, of course, knows what Rogers could be capable of at other positions as well – he started off playing him at outside linebacker and on special teams.

While Rogers started his final two seasons at quarterback and split time as a sophomore with Timmy Haehl, who now plays for Harvard, Goncharoff says that he is comparatively new to the position when stacked up against polished quarterbacks who were groomed for the position before playing in pass-heavy high school offenses.

So, Rogers is going to have to learn on an accelerated schedule. But that’s nothing new.

While the majority of WSU’s 2016 recruiting class will sign letters of intent on Wednesday and enroll in the summer, Rogers is already on campus. He’s shadowing starting quarterback Luke Falk during seven-on-sevens, learning plays and signals so he can be ready to participate during spring practices.

In order to forego his senior spring – the most fun a kid can have in high school – Rogers took Running Start classes at Bellevue College whose semester credits counted for an entire year at Bellevue High.

The Cougars have four early enrollees in this year’s recruiting class – joining Rogers are wide receiver Isaiah Johnson, defensive back Jalen Thompson and defensive end Garrett McBroom, a junior college transfer.

“It’s good to get this transition with the college atmosphere as well as college football,” Rogers said. “The pace they go, it’s just much faster than high school. It’s a good experience and I’m starting to get used to the full days.”

According to Goncharoff, Rogers is the first football player from Bellevue do it. Rogers says that the experience with campus lifestyle and college study habits have benefited him at WSU, much like how he hopes arriving in Pullman early will make it easier to juggle football with his academic and social responsibilities.

“Everybody here is in college,” Rogers said. “I’m not the only one, like in high school. I’m not the only one anymore doing college. This is a college atmosphere and I can talk to other people around campus about campus or college life.”

With Falk only a junior next year, sophomore Peyton Bender gaining playing experience last season, and freshman Tyler Hilinski earning praise from the coaching staff during his redshirt season, the Cougars will have ample time to groom Rogers into a pass-first quarterback.

If he sticks at the position, he will be among the most athletic Mike Leach has ever coached, adding a running threat against defenses that are already spread thin trying to cover five potential receivers.

Goncharoff compares him to former Woodinville and Washington standout Marques Tuiasosopo, another athletic quarterback whose throwing skills were not immediately apparent during his high school career. It certainly does not hurt Rogers’ chances of sticking at the position that three quarterbacks this recruiting cycle have backed out of public commitments to WSU and time is running out to find a fourth worthy of a scholarship offer.

Goncharoff says that the drive that allows Rogers to excel at multiple positions should allow him to succeed at the most important position on the field: quarterback.

“Everybody loves to play on Fridays, you know, with the parents and fans and everybody out there,” Goncharoff said. “This kid loves to play Monday through Thursday, and I think that’s what makes him special.”

So, don’t be surprised if the work Rogers puts in on his weekdays means that eventually he is throwing passes for WSU on Saturday.