The Wisconsin Badgers recently extended a scholarship to a Massachusetts running back with sights set on possibly playing in the Big Ten Conference.
Isaiah Rogers, a four-star running back in the 2027 class, is a Springfield native running back who holds a handful of scholarship offers including Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Boston College, and now Wisconsin. Rogers is currently ranked as the 145th recruit in the class and the 12th running back in the class, while holding down the second overall spot in Massachusetts. The running back sits behind four-star Michigan commitment Peter Bourque, but could jump the quarterback with a successful season.
The Wisconsin Badgers are the most recent program to extend a scholarship to Rogers and now aim to secure a visit with the recruit.
With a scholarship offer now in hand for Rogers, the staff has begun to develop a relationship and likely will look to book a game-day visit for the upcoming season. Rogers is one of the fastest rising recruits in the 2027 class, jumping from 163 to 145 in the rankings after multiple successful showings during the summer. Now, the running back is heading into his own season with a handful of new offers and some very large programs keeping an eye out.
On the field, seeing why Rogers has had as much success as he has in the recruiting front is not hard and not many plays need to be seen before the talent is clear. Standing in at 5-foot-11-inches, and roughly 205-pounds, Rogers is a solid yet quick and shifty running back who blends a contact-seeking back with an elusive ankle-breaker.
Starting with his speed on the field, Rogers can easily shift past out of position players and create extended space without an issue. Tackling Rogers requires a combination of lining the running back up and aiming low, because a high tackle simply will not suffice with the frame the running back has developed. Rogers can turn broken plays or would-be losses into major gains solely due to his speed.
Speed is an excellent tool to have, but combining speed with physicality turns the running back into a mini bowling ball on the field. Once Rogers has momentum, the defense needs to hold on and hope enough power is present to bring the runner down. Tackling Rogers from behind is equally as difficult due to his speed, low to the ground running style, and his awareness of the field.
A good running back is one who can see where the play is going to progress and Rogers has elite vision when carrying the football. Rogers regularly breaks off big runs and rarely finds himself caught in a bad position behind the line of scrimmage. Bringing the running back down is already a difficult task, but combined with his vision the defender needs to be perfect.
For the Wisconsin Badgers, Rogers would be an excellent running back for the program since he mirrors current starter Dilin Jones stylistically. Rogers and Jones have similar frames and similar intentions when running the football which would make Rogers a perfect addition schematically for the Wisconsin Badgers staff.
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