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- Mar 19, 2019
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Along with gaining a few pointers from Cobb, Rodgers also has benefited from advice from his father, who quarterbacked Tennessee to an undefeated season in 1998 and the football program's first NCAA Division I-A national championship.
Rodgers was offered a chance to follow in his dad's footsteps with the Volunteers but instead chose to play at Clemson for head coach Dabo Swinney, a receiver coach by trade.
As the son of a coach and celebrated college athlete, Rodgers grew into a team leader and locker-room favorite at Clemson. So much so, Swinney released a 414-word statement shortly after the Packers drafted Rodgers about how much the senior wideout meant to the Tigers' program.
Because for as much success as Rodgers enjoyed there, he still overcame a great deal of adversity after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2018. He rehabbed two, sometimes three, times a day to get back on the field within six months.
"This kid has handled himself like a pro since I met him, and I mean in every aspect of his life," Swinney said. "He is built like a running back, but he has the length of a 6-foot-3 wideout and plays long."
It's all led to this, a dream opportunity to join one of the NFL's most decorated franchises. While the Packers hadn't drafted a Clemson player in 17 years, Rodgers' family felt all along that Green Bay was going to be where he landed this weekend.
Now that Rodgers is on the roster, the rookie receiver hopes to provide another explosive playmaker to both the Packers' offense and special-teams units.
"Everyone in my family was telling me, 'It was the Packers, it was the Packers,'" Rodgers said. "When it happened, it was just like crazy. It was like God was watching over me and my family and already knew where I was going. It was crazy. I'm just ready for the opportunity."