SEC Football history: 50 best players of all time
By Brad Weiss
850. . RB. Gamecocks . George Rogers. 39. player
39. Best SEC football players of all time: George Rogers, South Carolina football
George Rogers landed with the University of South Carolina based on the fact that he would be allowed to play right away. Once inserted into the starting lineup, Rogers proved to be one of the better running backs in the history of the SEC, rushing for over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.
After rushing for 1,000 yards as a freshman, Rogers ran for nearly 1,700 as a junior, finishing seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting. The following season, Rogers would stand at the top of the Heisman voting, taking home the 1980 honor after rushing for nearly 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior for the Gamecocks.
In fact, he beat out Georgia legend Herschel Walker for the 1980 Heisman, but we will touch on him later in this ranking. All told, Rogers still holds the South Carolina record for rushing yards with over 5,200, and he finished his career by rushing for over 100 yards in his final 22 games, an impressive feat nonetheless.
A first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1981, Rogers led the NFL in rushing as a rookie, taking home the NFL’s Rookie of the Year honor. He played seven seasons in the NFL, but it is what he did at South Carolina that lands him here, and he even has a statue and road named after him to prove it.