How A Community College QB Became An NFL Legend

it's hard to imagine that After High School Aaron Rodgers considered quitting football but after receiving no offers to play division one football he was ready to give up on his NFL Dream from Community College to four-time NFL MVP this is the story of Aaron Rodgers Aaron Rodgers grew up in Chico California his football career would start at Pleasant Valley High School it was not the most physically gifted athlete but his incredible understanding of the game and insane arm Talent were there for all to see from very early on however standing at just five foot three as a freshman Rogers had to excel in the mental side of the game to compensate for being small so Rogers didn't get the opportunity to start until his junior year despite growing to just 5-7 it didn't take long for him to establish himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the State starting two years in high school Rogers passed for 4 421 yards and set the school's single season record with 2466 passing yards in his senior year he also set single game records with six touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards when it was time to take the leap to college Rogers was six foot and still considered too small which led to him being overlooked by every division one program in college football he attended camps in an attempt to raise his status his high school head coach Sterling Jackson even took him to a camp at the University of Illinois Rogers was clearly the best quarterback at the camp a convincing coach is to look past his small frame wasn't easy the University of Illinois decided to offer Rogers the opportunity to join and compete for a scholarship as a walk-on but he declined the offer Aaron Rodgers was stuck being told you are not good enough by every College in the country is very disheartening most would have given up and he almost did disappointed by the lack of interest in him from division one programs he considered hanging up his pads and playing baseball Rogers also admitted that he thought about quitting Sports altogether going to law school but this wouldn't be the end of Aaron Rodgers he was too good for it to end this way when all hope was lost he was reached out to by Butte Community College a junior college about 15 minutes from where he grew up and offered the opportunity to play football for them Aaron still had his heart firmly set on playing football at the next level following a conversation with Butte head coach Craig Rigsby Rogers was convinced all he wanted was for me to look him in the eye and promise I would give him a chance Greg Rigsby all Rogers needed was an opportunity as he quickly won the starting job over a veteran who had been there for years arriving at six foot two and 200 pounds for his freshman year Rogers ended the season completing almost 62 percent of his past attempts compiling 2 408 yards 28 touchdowns and just four interceptions the Butte Road Runners led by Rogers went 10-1 on their way to a NorCal championship and a number two national ranking California Golden Bears head coach Jeff Tedford came for a roadrunners game to recruit Butte tight end Garrett cross in the process he discovered Aaron Rodgers and offered him a scholarship to play at Cal after just one year in junior college Aaron Rodgers would transfer to the University of California Berkeley Rogers was named the starting quarterback just four games into a sophomore season and the Golden Bears went 7-3 with him at the helm that year Rogers tied the record for most 300 yard games in a season with five and he set a new school record for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43 percent as a junior Aaron Rodgers really put the football World on notice the Golden Bears went 10-1 with their only loss coming against number one ranked USC Rogers had an amazing game he set the single game record with 85 percent of pass is completed despite having first and goal with less than two minutes to play Rogers and the Golden Bears couldn't get it done he finished the season with 2566 passing yards 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions is 66.1 percent pass completion percentage led the pac-10 but now he was a household name so he opted out of his senior year at Cal to declare for the NFL draft Rogers grew up a lifelong 49ers fan who had the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft was a no-brainer they had to pick him he was from the area he went to school in the area they needed a quarterback and he was the best one in the draft made perfect sense right wrong the Niners went with a different quarterback Alex Smith the player who they thought was ready to come in and play straight away now it was time for Aaron Rodgers to sit tight and wait for his name to be called after every pick the camera would show Rogers becoming visibly frustrated it was College all over again everyone seemed to be passing on him hours went by but finally he would hear his name called with the 24th pick in the NFL draft the Green Bay Packers select Aaron Rodgers years the Green Bay Packers weren't in any immediate need for a quarterback Brett Favre was still playing at an elite level so Rogers would be going there to sit for a few years before he finally got his chance and farv didn't take kindly to his Heir being drafted while he was still in his prime but during Roger's rookie season in Green Bay the Packers went 4 and 12. so head coach Mike Sherman was fired and replaced by Mike McCarthy McCarthy would spend several hours a day with Rogers working on his mechanics to allow him to have a Smooth release whereas the relationship or lack of between farv and Rogers was no secret barf once famously said my contract doesn't say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play now hopefully he watches me and gets something from that and after two seasons as a backup many thought Rogers would get his chance because Farve retired before the 2007 season but Rogers would have to wait a little longer as farv said that he was coming out of retirement for one more ride his time would finally come in 2008 varv announced his retirement yet again giving Aaron Rodgers the chance to lead the Packers then when Brett Favre came out of retirement for a sec second time the team decided they would stick with Rogers going forward training farv to the New York Jets The Pact struggled in Rogers first season as the starter finishing the 2008 season 6 and 10. despite that Rogers proved to everyone why the Packers decided to go with him over far Rogers ended the year with 4038 passing yards and 28 touchdowns which earned him a six-year extension worth 65 million dollars and this was just the beginning of things to come for the man who had been overlooked his entire career in 2009 Rogers picked up right where he left off it took just two years as a starter for people to realize that he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league his ability to read and dissect coverages along with the armed talent to make every throw on the field made him almost impossible to stop the Packers started four and four but pulled it together ending the season 7-1 to finish 11-5 and earn a playoff berth That season the Packers set a new franchise record for points scored with 461 Rogers became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4 000 yards in each of their first two seasons as starter in his first playoff appearance Rogers was intercepted on his first pass attempt he brushed it off to pass for 423 yards and four touchdowns the most by any quarterback in their first playoff game unfortunately the Packers lost the game in overtime in what would go down as one of the best playoff games in history their 51-45 loss to the Cardinals is the highest scoring playoff game to date he finished the season with 4434 yards through the air 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions adding 316 yards and five touchdowns on the ground on the way to his first Pro Bowl selection after an up and down start to the 2010 season Green Bay found themselves sitting eight and six with two games to go knowing they would need to win both to secure a playoff berth for the third straight year they blew out the Giants and beat the Bears to end 10-6 and sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed that playoff run destroyed any chatter surrounding Aaron Rodgers and whether or not he could win in the playoffs the Packers defeated the third seed Eagles 21-6 in the Wild Card round then blew out the number one seed Atlanta Falcons 48-21 the most points ever by the Packers in the playoffs in the NFC championship game Green Bay were up against a familiar opponent the division rival and number two seed Chicago Bears the Bears found a way to nullify Rogers intercepting him twice and limiting him to just one rushing touchdown although Rogers didn't have the best game the Packers held on to win 21-14 earning a ticket to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl 45 Green Bay raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter the Pittsburgh Steelers threatened to come back on a few occasions but Rogers kept making plays to keep the drives alive the Packers held on to win the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers was named the game's MVP after he became one of four quarterbacks to ever throw for over 300 yards three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the big game Rogers 2010 playoff run was historic and normally there is a Super Bowl slump and Aaron Rodgers wasn't normal as he would have one of the best individual seasons in NFL history in 2011. every throw was on the money throwing off platform across his body Rogers was making it look easy he ended the season with 4643 passing yards 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions his 7.5 touchdown to interception ratio that year is fourth all time Rogers also set a single season passer rating record at 122.5 on his way to the first of his four MVP awards despite the historic season and the Packers finishing the year 15-1 they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs 2012 was more of the same for Rogers Elite QB play that led the Packers to another division title despite it they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs to the 49ers Rogers was likely to pick up his second MVP award in three years in 2013 but he fractured his collarbone against the Chicago Bears the injury would force him to miss eight games and the Packers went 2-6 in his absence in the final game of the season the Green Bay Packers traveled to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears yet again Packers were 7-7-1 Against All Odds Rogers returned for this massive game the packer found themselves down one at Midfield with less than a minute to go facing a fourth down and long Rogers took the snap rolled left and Unleashed a 48-yard dime to Randall Cobb for the touchdown the king in the north was back the Packers started the 2014 season 1 and 2 and were facing some criticism in those three games Rogers struggled and famously told the fans and the media to just r e l a x relax boy was he right the pack would finish the season 12-4 while Rogers threw for 4 381 yards and 38 touchdowns to just five interceptions in the divisional round the Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys Rogers 316 yards and three touchdowns helped lead the Packers to a 26-21 win next stop was a matchup with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks for the conference Championship with less than four minutes to go in the game the Packers led 19-7 a touchdown by Russell Wilson made it 1914 then the unthinkable happened the Seahawks attempted and recovered an onside kick they drove down and took the lead with less than 90 seconds to go a two-point conversion gave Seattle a three-point lead even with the number one defense in the league the Seahawks knew they had left Aaron Rodgers too much time Rogers drove down with relative ease putting the Packers in position to make the game-tying field goal despite his heroics and over time Rogers didn't even get a chance the Seahawks won the coin toss and scored the winning touchdown Rogers won the most prestigious individual honor once again winning his second NFL MVP award 2015 was a down year for his standards he finished the year with career lows and yards 3821 completion percentage 60.7 yards per attempt 6.7 and pass a rating 92.7 when playing 15 games or more but the year wouldn't be remembered for a slump it would be remembered as the year of Miracles things that only Aaron Rodgers could do first up it was the Motown Miracle with zeros on the clock down two the Packers were given one untimed down after a face mask penalty was called on the Detroit Lions on his own 39-yard line Rogers threw a hail Mary that traveled 61 yards in the air before were being snagged by tight end Richard Rogers in the end zone the Packers would end the season 10-6 this was enough to secure them a road playoff game against the Washington Redskins who the Packers made light work of winning 35-18 to advance to the divisional round next up Miracle number two this time at the expense of the Arizona Cardinals when a team is down seven with less than a minute to play facing 4th and 20 on their own four-yard line it's usually game over that is unless Aaron Rodgers is the guy with the ball on his hands he took the snap rolled left and Unleashed a 61-yard bomb down the field to find Jeff Janus after a penalty on the next play the Packers were left with just five seconds and 40 yards between them and the end zone moving to his left falling away with pressure in his face Rogers threw a prayer towards the end zone Jeff Janus went up between two Arizona Defenders and made the touchdown catch another miracle Aaron Rodgers clawed the Packers back from certain defeat unfortunately yet again he wouldn't get an opportunity to win the game in overtime the Cardinals won the toss and drove down score the game-winning touchdown the following year Rogers regular season struggles continue the Packers started 4-6 and Rogers didn't look himself he wasn't throwing as accurately as we were used to seeing Andy was turning the ball over after their sixth loss of the Season Rogers came out and said he felt the Packers could run the table and they did just that winning six straight to finish 10-6 collecting another NFC North title and a place in the playoffs another playoff run another Hail Mary with five seconds left at the end of the first half and the Wild Card round against the Giants Rogers would drop back and launch a 42-yard strike to Randall Cobb at the back of the end zone the Packers won with relative ease 38-13 to set up an exciting divisional round game against the number one seed Dallas Cowboys tied at 31 with 12 seconds left to go in the game Aaron Rodgers produced what can only be described as one of the best throws ever made in the NFL he took the snap spun left and found Jared Cook on the sideline there was only one place that ball could go and he put it right on the money the 36 yard completion would put Mason Crosby and field goal range to kick the game winner however Rogers found himself once again falling short of another Super Bowl appearance the Packers lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game after the heartbreaking playoff loss the 2000 season would only bring more pain for Rogers and the pack Rogers suffered a broken collarbone in week six against their division rival Minnesota Vikings the Packers would go on to miss the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons without their star QB 2018 is what can be remembered as the end of an era in Green Bay the Packers failed to make the playoffs for the second straight season despite Aaron Rodgers heroics they finished the season 7-9 and third in the NFC North while Rogers was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl Rogers dealt with a knee injury for most of the season but that didn't stop him throwing for 4442 passing yards and 25 touchdowns to just two interceptions that was the third highest touchdown to interception ratio in league history having missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in Rogers career the Packers decided to move on from head coach Mike McCarthy and replace him with Matt LaFleur the changing coaching regimes proved to be just what the Packers needed as they went 13-3 in the 2019 regular season they secured a first round Buy in the playoffs which led to a divisional round matchup with the Seahawks after going up big early in the game the Packers were able to hold on for a 28-23 victory then a story the Packers and Aaron Rodgers know all too well and NFC Championship game loss this time against the San Francisco 49ers at 36 many began to wonder if Roger still had it the Packers drafted a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft and that didn't sit well with Rogers he felt disrespected and that the team should be using those valuable assets at other positions he took his anger out on the league the next year Rogers finished the 2020 regular season with 4299 passing yards 48 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions leading the league in completion percentage touchdown passes and passer rating Aaron Rodgers was crowned League MVP for the third time but the postseason would have a very similar outcome to the previous one a meeting with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC championship game was on the cards while Rogers had 346 yards and three touchdowns he was sacked five times and under constant pressure all game the Packers lost the game 31-26 Rogers was now one and four in Championship Games becoming the first quarterback in history to lose four in a row in 2021 nothing changed it was more of the same for Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers dominance in the regular season but not able to put it all together when it mattered most in the playoffs nonetheless Aaron Rodgers at 37 years old was nothing short of spectacular throwing for 4115 yards and 37 touchdowns to just four interceptions he won his fourth MVP award and became the first player since Peyton Manning to win the award in back-to-back Seasons at age 38 Roger seems to be showing no signs of slowing down now a Super Bowl Super Bowl MVP four League MVPs four all Pro selections 10 Pro Bowl selections and countless NFL records later the kid from California that couldn't get a single division one offer in college is without a doubt one of the five best quarterbacks in NFL history and perhaps the most gifted passer the game has ever seen

Channel: Nonstop

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Keywords: NFL, Aaron Rodgers, Nonstop Sports

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Length: 16min 36sec (996 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 23 2022