Lineman continues ACL rehab
Tuesday marked the eightweek anniversary of Zach Rogers’ surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury he suffered prior to the start of the season. He said his relationship with his physical therapist is one of tough love.
“She’s evil,” said Rogers, an Arkansas offensive line commitment for the 2015 class. “She’s just evil. The very first day I was there I had to lay on a table and try and lift my leg and I couldn’t do it. She said I’m going to make you do it. So she lifts my leg up and she said ‘Alright, I’m going to drop it’. She just dropped my leg and that scared me so much it activated those muscles. It all worked.”
Rogers, 6-3, 295, 5.09 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Carrollton (Texas) Hebron said having to watch from the sidelines has been tough.
“I do have an appreciation for the game and I love it that much more,” Rogers said. “Because I had to see the game through a different perspective every week. I think there’s definitely some positives.”
His rehabilitation is about a week ahead of schedule.
“I have another four weeks to go and I can start to run,” Rogers said.
Rogers committed to the Hogs in July over scholarship offers from Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Baylor and UCLA.
“I’m going to different other [position] meetings and learning more about the game of football so I can become a better offensive lineman,” Rogers said. “I can understand what the safeties are trying to do and understand what the corners are trying to do to counter what we’re doing. So I can understand how to attack them better.”
Rogers and his parents made the trip to Fayetteville last Saturday for the Auburn game. He was able to talk to several recruits, including junior quarterback Ty Storey.
“He went through the same ACL surgery last year,” Rogers said of Storey.
GRAGG STILL EVALUATING
Pine Bluff junior tight end Will Gragg, who won’t be making his college decision until signing day in 2015, was one of about 50 prospects that attended Arkansas’ game against Auburn last Saturday.
“I’m just taking my time evaluating everything,” Gragg said. “I know Arkansas is going through a tough time right now, so you really can’t look at it like that. It’s the same with Petrino’s first year.”
He attended Saturday’s Alabama home game against LSU.
“I might get down to Auburn for the Iron Bowl,” Gragg said. “I want to see how different people do things.”
Gragg, 6-4, 238, 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama and Vanderbilt.
“Getting to see how the coaches act towards the players,” Gragg said is a priority. “Wherever you go you’re going to be stuck with them for four to five years. I just want to see the type of relationships the coaches have with the players and vice versa.”
His brother, Chris, a former Razorback, is a rookie tight end for the Buffalo Bills. He’s looking for coaching that will help him also get to beyond college.
“I want someone that will be straight up with me and tell me what I did wrong,” Gragg said. “Get on to me and show me how to fix it so I won’t make the same mistakes. Anybody that can get me better because I’m all about getting better.”
Having a brother in the NFL has it’s advantages.
“It’s cool,” Gragg said. “I get to do a lot of things that guys my age don’t get to do. He’s one of my biggest critics. He wants me to be better than him. Everything little thing whether it’s blocking or route running or sticking my routes. Things like that. He’s on me but I appreciate it, every bit of it. Because he’s where I want to be. I just take it all in.”
Gragg respects how Coach Bret Bielema looks out for his players.
“He cares a lot,” Gragg said. “You can tell his has a genuine passion for his players He likes football and everybody knows they’re still a couple of years away.”
Email Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com