Back home in New Jersey, Eric Rogers becomes key piece of Rutgers football secondary

PISCATAWAY – When Eric Rogers would leave the locker room after Northern Illinois games, the cornerback from South Jersey didn’t have much of a welcoming party.

A lot’s changed since he’s transferred to Rutgers.

“I would say being here is really fun,” Rogers said following the Scarlet Knights practice on Tuesday. “Having my family and my brothers being able to come – not even just my family, my friends too. Those guys coming to the game is important. It’s been a lot of fun for me.”

And the Burlington High School graduate has been a good addition to a solid secondary.

Rogers has been part of a unit that has helped the Scarlet Knights earn the ninth-ranked passing defense in the country, yielding 166.2 yards per game. Their next challenge will come on Saturday as Rutgers goes up against No. 12 Penn State (noon, FS1) at Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions have the eighth-ranked passing offense in the Big Ten with 206.1 yards through the air per game, but wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith is averaging 65.1 receiving yards per game, good for fourth in the conference.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Rogers, who announced his intention to transfer to Rutgers last December, so far has 13 tackles with four pass breakups in his role as the Scarlet Knights’ No. 3 cornerback behind Max Melton and Robert Longerbeam – though he could have a bigger role against Penn State if Longerbeam, who suffered an injury against Iowa last week, is unable to play.

“Eric has been a real nice addition,” coach Greg Schiano said. “I think it's a perfect situation for him. Transferring over from Northern Illinois, he doesn't have to come in and be the guy, but comes in and is a guy. He's playing. He's in sub-packages. But Beam and Max were the first two guys, and then he kind of works in a rotation with them on normal downs.”

It’s been an adjustment for Rogers against Big Ten receivers – some of whom are the best in the country. It’s a considerable step up in competition from his time at Northern Illinois, but Rogers has adapted well to the challenges.

“You saw him come out, they tried him with a double move against (Ohio State’s) Marvin Harrison a couple weeks ago and he strapped it,” Melton said. “We expect that fully out of him. He’s a lanky corner. He’s everything you really want in a corner. I’m proud of him the way he stepped up this year.”

Rogers relishes those types of tests.

“I would say it’s a lot of fun,” Rogers said. “As a competitor that’s what you want. You want to play against the best competition. That’s what you want. I think it’s a lot of fun competing every week against different guys. The Big Ten has a lot of good receivers, athletes. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Rogers’ contributions on special teams, which Schiano and Rutgers place a premium on, have been just as valuable. He returned a blocked punt 17 yards for a touchdown in the Scarlet Knights’ 31-14 win over Indiana, which secured traditional bowl eligibility.

'I KNOW WHO WE ARE' Greg Schiano delivers strong message about state of Rutgers football

“Special teams was the No. 1 thing for me coming out of high school,” Rogers said. “If you want to get on the field, you’re going to have to play special teams first. I just really believed on that. It’s Year 4 I’m on special teams. It’s fun.”

Rutgers has two games remaining and a chance to make what’s so far been an overall solid season even better.

For Rogers, having the chance to do that so close to home has been meaningful.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Rogers said. “I have a lot of fun with the whole team, I think we’re playing pretty well. We’re playing good football on both sides of the ball. It’s just been a lot of fun here with this group of guys. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: Eric Rogers key piece of secondary