Report: Tennessee Wide Receiver Da’Rick Rogers Suspended
By Kyle Kensing
Volquest.com first reported on Thursday that Tennessee wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers was suspended indefinitely. Details of the penalty are initially vague, though CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman tweeted the following:
After what I'd been told by sources inside Vols program last yr, was surprised Dooley allowed Da'Rick Rogers to stay w team.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 23, 2012
Rogers was arrested in the summer of 2010 after a bar fight in Knoxville, but the celebrated recruit was able to get into action and haul in a pair of touchdowns his freshman campaign. Last season, he became the undisputed No. 1 of the Volunteer receiving corps. Rogers caught 67 passes for 1040 yards and nine touchdowns, all team highs.
For an offense that functioned almost exclusively on the pass a season ago, the loss of Rogers would exacerbate an already glaring problem for UT. The Vols ranked No. 116 via the rush, far and away worst in the SEC. UT sputtered midway through the campaign when that one dimension of the offense lost its engine. Tyler Bray suffered an injury that sidelined him, and the Volunteers’ postseason hopes.
Bray is back, but has had his own off-field transgressions serving as distraction.
Furthermore, UT’s receiving corps already suffered a significant loss this off-season when DeAnthony Arnett transferred to Michigan State. Arnett caught 24 passes and two touchdowns in 2011. The Michigan native Arnett sought release from his scholarship to attend school closer to his diabetes-afflicted father, but had a public spat with head coach Derek Dooley over where he was allowed to transfer.
His departure and the contentious fashion in which Dooley granted it set the tone for a tumultuous few months. UT is coming off a 5-7 season, its third losing campaign in the last four and second bowl-less season in that same span.
The Volunteers open Aug. 31 in Atlanta against NC State — only the most prolific turnover-generating secondary in all of college football. The Wolfpack will pose a serious challenge for a team predicated on passing. Moreover, college football fans appear unlikely to get to see a premiere Week 1 match-up of a top flight wideout, Rogers, against one of the best defensive backs anywhere, David Amerson.