Sports

GSU football well-represented in NFL playoffs

Chester Rogers rumns down the field after a reception./Courtesy photo

Rogers comes back to GSU campus to receive his degree./Courtesy photo

Trent Scott prepares to block./Courtesy photo

Scott poses for a team photo for the Los Angles Chargers.

Grambling State University has produced several athletes who have gone on to play in the professional ranks. 

 

Football, basketball, baseball and boxing are just a few of the sports where GSU alumni have excelled in. 

 

Names like Doug Williams, Everson Walls and Willis Reed are just a few names that are attached to Tigers sports history.

 

 However, there is a new generation of GSU alumni making names for themselves.

 

GSU alum Chester Rogers, and Trent Scott have gone on to play in the NFL and both started in the playoffs this year.

 

“It’s a great feeling,” GSU head football coach Broderick Fobbs told The Gramblinite. “It goes to show you that we have talents right here in Grambling that are good enough to play professionally.”

 

 Rogers was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent wide receiver on May 2, 2016.

 

 This year, the Colts went 1-5 before turning the season around and going 9-1 down the stretch. The Colts notched a win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans before falling 31-13, to the Kansas City Chiefs.

 

Rogers’ season was not in vain as he recorded his best year yet with 53 receptions for 485 yards, to surpass 1,000 yards receiving throughout his professional career. 

 

Fobbs said he was “flattered” at Rogers saying he was a big influence. 

 

“Chester was always a good kid, so it was easy for me,” Fobbs said. 

 

Former GSU running back Martez Carter said Rogers was a great teammate. 

 

“Playing with Chester Rogers and his style of play made my job so much easier,” Carter said. “Watching him on game day and watching him prepare week in and week out helped me to be the player I am today.”

 

Carter praised Rogers’ discipline. 

 

“Rogers has always been well prepared,” Carter said. “He made a lot of people around him better because he practiced at his highest level. He opened the door and gave hope to undrafted players like myself out of GSU.”

 

Rogers is a man of many talents, he started acting at the young age of 10. Constellation, Madea’s Family Reunion, and Re’Animated on Cartoon Network and Dirty are just a few movies that he made appearences in. He put his acting career on hold to pursue his fotball.

 

Scott also reached the playoffs this year.

 

 Scott is a rookie offensive lineman for the Los Angeles Chargers.He signed as an undrafted free agent May 11, after giving up just three sacks throuhout his collegiate career.

 

Scott was on the Chargers practice squad before being upgraded to the 53 man roster.Scott appeared in nine games in the 2018 season, registering one start. The Chargers went 12-4 in the regular season and won their Wild Card match up versus the Baltimore Ravens before falling victim 41-28, to the New England Patriots. 

 

“Coaching Trent was a blast as well,” Fobbs said. “He was so mature and always came in ready to work. He had a rough upbringing, so seeing him prosper is fulfilling.”

 

 Former GSU teammate Jonkil Skipper said Scott set a great example at GSU.

 

“Something that stood out to me was Scott’s work ethic” Skipper said. 

 

“I can’t talk enough about his work ethic on and off the feild, are just a few habbits that I picked up from Scott. Being on the team with Scott is an experience that you won’t get from any other teammates.”