For a head coach, the first day of fall practice brings a level of uncertainty, especially when their team is moving on from a quarterback that threw more than 100 touchdown passes the previous two seasons combined.
That didn’t appear to be the case for Argyle head coach Todd Rodgers. Instead, the longtime coach of the Eagles exuded confidence in a position group that had zero career starts.
“Oh,” Rodgers elicited with conviction when asked how the quarterback situation was looking, “it’s good.”
Through two games, good may have been an understatement. That’s because of senior CJ Rogers, who has completed 23 of 36 passes for 439 yards and 10 touchdowns through six quarters. He only needed one half and five touchdown passes in the season-opening, 56-9 win over state-ranked Decatur before the win was secured.
Last week, Rogers and the Argyle offense passed another tough test, beating Texarkana Pleasant Grove, the reigning 4A-II state champions, 52-41. Rogers completed 12 of 21 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns against a defense that includes LSU-bound senior Landon Jackson, a top-100 recruit according to 247Sports.
The beginning of Rogers' starting career puts him on pace for season totals reminiscent of the player he’s replacing.
In two years, and 28 games, as Argyle’s starter Bo Hogeboom threw for more than 7,000 yards and 101 touchdown passes. That type of production isn’t easy to replace, but it’s a task Rogers has been preparing to accomplish. On the first day of practice Rodgers called Rogers a “dynamic player” who probably would’ve earned more playing time in a “little bit of a different role” last season if not for a sprained knee in the middle of the season.
“But he’s healthy,” Rodgers said of his quarterback during the team’s first fall practice on Aug. 3. “He busted his guts over the offseason to hone his skills and get himself ready for the role that he’s going to be playing.”
And Rogers — a 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect who was also on Argyle’s state tournament basketball team — has been doing it well through two weeks, but he’s had some help.
Senior Cole Kirkpatrick, an all-state and second-team all-area honoree last season, has four touchdown receptions so far — three of which came in a seven catch, 152-yard performance last week. Three-star senior tight end Jasper Lott has three touchdown catches and fellow senior Cash Walker has two, as well. The Eagles offensive line, led by senior Texas Tech pledge Jack Tucker, has also played well through two weeks.
“He’s got really good players around him,” Rodgers said Thursday, “but he’s still tasked with distributing the ball to them and doing what his coaches tell him and running the play correctly. And that just as much about being a quarterback as it is being individually athletic.”
All together, it’s led to Argyle’s eight-straight 2-0 start, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a senior quarterback who’s proving to be worth the wait.
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