By Adam Aniba
Washington's tight end room has dealt with various setbacks all offseason with Logan Thomas at the forefront recovering all offseason, after ACL surgery.
Fan favorite Sammis Reyes was released with an injury settlement, John Bates, Curtis Hodges (on IR) and 5th rounder Cole Turner also missed practices with various injuries.
The door opened for UDFA Armani Rogers to get snaps, after moving from QB to tight end, 1 week before the pre-draft East West Shrine Bowl. Talent evaluators have been impressed with what they've seen from Rogers since the Shrine Bowl.
With the other backup Washington tight ends missing time, Rogers gained valuable reps with Carson Wentz, which gave coaches an extended look at the converted quarterback. In his first regular season game vs JAX, he recorded an impressive 23-yard reception.
Armani Rogers
6'5" 225 | QB/TE | Ohio Univ
Career UNLV (20 games) passing 2,465 yds 18 TDs /1,549 rush yds 18 TDs
Career Ohio (15 games) 552 yds passing 1 TD /666 rush yds 9 TDs
2021 (12 games) 350 yds passing 0 TDs /552 rushing 7 TDs
Background
Rogers became the starting quarterback for UNLV in '17, after redshirting in '16'. Rogers was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year after starting 9 games.
The Rebels signal caller broke the school record for rushing yards in a season by a freshman and rushing yards in a season by a quarterback with 780 yards.
In 20 games during his time at UNLV, Rogers threw for 2,465 yards for 18 TDs and ran for 1,549 yards scoring 18 TDs.
Fast forward to 2020 and Rogers would play in 3 games (COVID shortened season) throwing for 48 yards and 1 touchdown, in addition to rushing for 114 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
In '21, Rogers served as QB2 behind starting QB Kurtis Rourke. He was the sub-package gadget QB and was efficient with 552 yards rushing (2nd on team rushing in '21).
Tale of the Tape
Displays an impressive second gear when in the open field
Although new to TE, displays decisiveness and quickness coming out of his breaks
DIsplays enough strength and athleticism to gain YAC
Although a willing blocker, still refining his technique and hand usage
Still learning the nuances of the route tree
Needs to add more weight and functional strength for the season grind at tight end
Outlook
With Thomas, Bates and Turner all likely to play vs Detroit, it's possible that Rogers could be a healthy scratch.
Washington currently has 5 TE's on the roster with UDFA Rogers and Hodges, who's currently on IR until Week 5. Rogers will vie for snaps, primarily competing with Turner. Rogers may not have the experience Turner has as a pass catcher, but he's more athletic displays impressive speed. It'll be fun to watch his maturation this season, similar to former Washington TE Jordan Reed who played QB at Florida.
*Games Watched- 9/2/17 vs Howard, 11/17/17 vs New Mexico, 9/16/21 vs Louisiana, 10/2/21 vs Akron, 10/23/21 vs Kent St, 11/2/21 vs Miami (OH), 11/16/21 vs Toledo, & 11/26/21 vs Bowling Green
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* YouTube courtesy of "The Sweep 17"
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