Da’Rick Rogers suspended, Dooley still cleaning up from Kiffin (UPDATED II)
Da'Rick Rogers was top SEC receiver in 2011. (Raleigh News-Observer)
(Second update with Derek Dooley saying he doesn’t expect Da’Rick Roger to play this season.)
Two years ago, when new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley made his debut at SEC media days, I made note of the first three subjects he was asked about: 1) His mother; 2) His father; 3) A bar fight that included several of his players. Suffice to say, he would welcome more questions about his mother and father again.
Dooley inherited a mess at Tennessee after the sudden departure of Lane Kiffin. That’s no secret. The fact that the guy’s job might be on the line this season is unfortunate because the image of the team and the character problems of too many players that he inherited takes a while to overcome.
The latest example: Da’Rick Rogers. The talented but often troubled wide receiver from Calhoun, who nearly signed with Georgia in 2010, was suspended indefinitely Thursday by Dooley. No reason was given, other than the standard, “violation of team rules.”
UPDATE: Dooley told the Knoxville News that “our expectation is” that Rogers won’t return to the program. Translation: Expect him to transfer.
But given that there has been no report of an arrest — or another bar fight — use your imagination.
The suspension appears open ended for now, but Rogers is not listed on Tennessee’s depth chart.
Tennessee probably wasn’t going to challenge for the SEC East title this season, anyway. But it has (or had) the potential to be decent and upset some teams. From a talent standpoint, Rogers’ loss would be significant. He led the SEC last season with 67 receptions, and was second with 1,040 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches.
But don’t blame Dooley for what’s going on in Knoxville. If we still don’t know how great of a coach he is, we can at least be certain Kiffin left him a rather large and malodorous bag.
(Many point out that Da’Rick Rogers was a Derek Dooley recruit in 2010. That is technically accurate. However, Rogers initially backed off his Georgia commitment to hear the recruiting pitches from then-Tennessee coaches Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron. It was Kiffin who offered Rogers and high school teammate Nash Nance the opportunity to go to Tennessee as a package deal, an offer that Dooley confirmed after he got the job. So, yes, Dooley shares some responsibility. I also wanted to added that rumors circulated that Rogers was interested in transferring to Georgia State in the spring, but that obviously never happened.)
In May, Dooley dismissed sophomore tight end Cameron Clear (yes, a Dooley recruit) following an arrest for felony theft charges. Last year he kicked off safety Janzen Jackson (a Kiffin recruit). Dooley said only that Jackson’s “personal issues” led to the suspension, but added, “I will always be there to help him as a person, but there comes a time when a player’s actions preclude him from the privilege of playing for [Tennessee].”
There have been multiple other suspensions. Sophomore safety Darren Myles Jr. was dismissed from the team and others were suspended for the aforementioned bar brawl, which took place not long after his hiring.
Rogers also was involved in that incident. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. But the charges ultimately were dropped and Dooley chose not to suspend him. That was one time when giving a kid a break backfired. Rogers was banned for two weeks this past spring for offseason activities for unspecified reasons.
Referencing Tennessee’s problems in 2010, Dooley said, “I wish I could snap my fingers, but it just doesn’t work that way. It takes time.”
Problem being that SEC coaches don’t get a lot of that, regardless of whose fault it is.
By Jeff Schultz
•
Some recent typings (no charge)
– Now on Internet: It’s Mike Vick Injury Bingo! (ouch)
– MLB’s drug policy too soft — teams should be docked wins
– VIDEO: Augusta National forges ahead into the 1900s
– If Braves serious about East, they need to beat Nationals now
– NFL is damaging its own product with replacement officials
– Falcons’ defense still showing reason for concern
– Donnan goes from Hall of Fame to ‘real SEC’ Hall of Shame
– Hanson not buying into talk of decline, looks to win spot
– Countdown: Mizzou’s paranoia, Mora’s rant and my new Petrino shirt
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
349 comments Add your comment
St. Bernard
August 23rd, 2012
12:57 pm
The quarterback throwing beer bottles at cars was a Dooley recruit I believe.
Red Stick
August 23rd, 2012
12:58 pm
As far as on the field his loss hurts as I thought UT would be a darkhorse in the SEC East this season.
Geaux Tigers
Go SEC
ARdawg
August 23rd, 2012
12:59 pm
Tennessee will return to prominence at some point. I hope Li’l Derek can get it done. I said when he took the job he was in an impossible position and wouldn’t last 4 years, no fault of his own.It’s coming to fruition
Tide Rising
August 23rd, 2012
1:01 pm
“They ousted Phil Fulmer in the worst way possible (UT’s fault),”
Well you know. What goes around comes around. Johnny Majors may have a little something to say about being ousted in the worst way possible by Fulmer.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:02 pm
DostaDawg — Nance is now at someplace called Hampden-Sydney college in Virginia. Here’s a clip: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/apr/01/nash-chooses-hampden-sydney/
Bradley Bryant
August 23rd, 2012
1:02 pm
Apparently a win over a 10-3 Cincinnati doesn’t count.
Tide Rising
August 23rd, 2012
1:03 pm
Red Stick,
I agree. I thought UT would be a darkhorse this season and pull one or 2 major upsets. The odds of that just dropped with the loss of their best player. Sucks for the vol nation.
McDawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:03 pm
if you are looking for someone to blame other than Rogers-have to look to the jock-sniffing Nance family who used this kid
Uga '91
August 23rd, 2012
1:04 pm
Nance left the program to transfer to Hampen-Sydney this year…he reminds me of those rabbits who set the pace in distance races to help set the pace for runners who can actually win. He did his two laps and dropped out. The Nash-Rogers pact worked out for…none of the parties involved.
bubba4dawgs
August 23rd, 2012
1:05 pm
Fulmer’s luck was running out when he was let go! It was indeed time for a change. The fan base was upset and the big money donors were dissatisfied with his performance. The recruiting was going downhill and Kiffin certainly didn’t help that situation.
Dooley came in under a cloudy storm and right at the time the season began. He had no time to work on recruiting. He had to go with what he had which was a lot of young players, mostly freshmen. So, to say he hasn’t done a good job is hogwash! He’s had two years and you can no blame him completely for his first year. This will be Dooley’s third year as head coach and he is expected to have a much better team than he’s had for the last two. I honestly believe the Vols will win 8 or 9 games this year and beat a team or two they are not expected to. That said, I hope the he** these finger pointers and naysayers will crawl back under their rocks and leave Dooley alone! He’s a good man and a good coach! He had a mess to clean up and he’s doing it! Now, he’s having to deal with an idiot or two along the way who can’t seem to play by the rules. Dooley definitely deserves a break which is uncommon in Vol country.
Ed Pilcher
August 23rd, 2012
1:06 pm
The ESPN article quotes Dooley as saying that he didn’t expect Rogers to play this season.
zbulldawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:06 pm
It is so funny how ALL players that had any thing to do with UGA Always points to UGA when they get into trouble ! AMAZING !!!! We don’t only loose the player but now he’s in trouble & some weird way it’s back on us ! Is it fair to hold us responable for every player that comes out of the state of Georgia ! Quest so ! It’s all good, Sticks & stones may break your bones But WE EAT THEM !!!!!!!!! LET THE BIG DAWG EAT
Spanky
August 23rd, 2012
1:08 pm
I wonder if this is what T.O. was like,..kinda sounds like it!! I thought he shoulda been booted after hospitalizing that guy! Anyway, welcome to Mr.Rogers Karma Neighborhood!..(que music while he changes shoes!)
gator
August 23rd, 2012
1:09 pm
Dawg fans are hilarious. They will ALWAYS be Floridas little brother and look to be shrinking in front of Spurrier too. Sooner or later you will have to play LSU and Bama so Richt better get it done with the easy schedule this year.
Mr. Hankey
August 23rd, 2012
1:12 pm
Well, it looks like Alabama State may have a new recruit. That team really could be interesting if
Rogers and Honeybadger both show up. That being said, I don’t feel one single bit of sorry for dooley, TN or anybody else. S… happens, move on.
Mr. Hankey
August 23rd, 2012
1:12 pm
Well, it looks like Alabama State may have a new recruit. That team really could be interesting if
Rogers and Honeybadger both show up. That being said, I don’t feel one single bit of sorry for dooley, TN or anybody else. S… happens, move on.
Spanky
August 23rd, 2012
1:13 pm
zbulldawg- it’s because CMR has lost control of EVERTHING ON THIS PLANET according alot of these couch-coaches around here!! There’s a hurricane on the way,…blame Coach Richt, right trolls?!
Dangerous
August 23rd, 2012
1:14 pm
Fulmer blew……Cutcliff was the straw that stirred that drink! He would have been back as head coach if several coaches under Kiffin didn’t have multi year contracts (how that happened go figure…..when Kiffin walked those contracts should have been null and void). DOOLEY is a good hire. He is a good coach and a quality person. He had to take on those coaches and Cutlcliff chose not to, so he had more baggage than just players. Most Vol fans I talk to know this and want to give him all the time he needs.
Dawglasville
August 23rd, 2012
1:14 pm
gator – Now you are just being silly. Of course, you are not the only one. This is Blog World.
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:14 pm
If you listen to all the idiots that come on UGA blogs you would think Mark Richt is the ONLY one with discipline problems.
robodawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:16 pm
You can’t always blame the coaches for a player’s mistake. Hey, I don’t blame the AJC for what you were doing last weekend Jeff
.
But yeah, Lane Kiffin did seem to attract more of the “come party with us for a few years” type of recruits. Unfortunately it looks like it’s still working for the golden boy at Southern Cal.
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:17 pm
gator, nobody is Florida’s little brother. I guess UGA fans in the 70’s and 80’s could say that Florida was UGA’s little brother back then. Your comment is pretty stupid.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:17 pm
McDawg — No race references please. You could’ve made your point about school without “white.” It opens the door to too many problems. Deleting comment.
ole dawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:17 pm
Let’s see… Tennessee screws Johnny Majors to hire Phil Fulmer. In turn they screw Phil Fulmer to hire Lane Kiffin. (Can’t feel too sorry for Fulmer there.) Kiffin screws Tennessee by bolting to USC. (Can’t feel sorry for Tennessee there.) And now Dooley is left to clean up all of the bad decsions and lack of character that Tennessee has cultivated for the last 30 years or so. Can’t feel too sorry for Dooley there because he should have known what he was getting into. KARMA!!!
gjj
August 23rd, 2012
1:17 pm
Dooley’s last year…..with or without Da’Rick.
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:18 pm
Gator fans don’t seem to realize yet that they are average now that Spurrier and Tebow have left.
Rodney Tweet
August 23rd, 2012
1:18 pm
gator- do you remember that last SEC Champ Game?? The one your gators watched on tv?? Well, the dawgs did play LSU in that one..in case you forgot!
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:19 pm
Ed Pilcher — “The ESPN article quotes Dooley as saying that he didn’t expect Rogers to play this season.”
<< Which is another way of saying Rogers probably will transfer.
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
August 23rd, 2012
1:19 pm
Gator said, “Even more funny is a UGA fan dismissing UF and claiming they control the east. We’ll see on Oct 27th.”
Let’s face it, Florida has some pretty big issues this year. QB uncertainty, a new Offensive Coordinator, RB uncertainty, a relative lack of proven WRs. The defense is pretty solid, but that offense has a lot of question marks.
Also, the perception outside the conference is that Florida is probably gonna be third place behind UGA and Carolina. So I wasn’t really trying to make jabs at Florida: I was just stating what I thought was obvious.
Dangerous
August 23rd, 2012
1:19 pm
I know people hated Kiffin, but give him his due on turning Crompton into a quality QB with the SLANT PASS…….5, 10, 15 and 20 yard variety. HINT HINT THERE BOBO THE CLOWN!!!!!!
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:21 pm
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
August 23rd, 2012
1:19 pm
Gator said, “Even more funny is a UGA fan dismissing UF and claiming they control the east. We’ll see on Oct 27th.”
Let’s face it, Florida has some pretty big issues this year. QB uncertainty, a new Offensive Coordinator, RB uncertainty, a relative lack of proven WRs. The defense is pretty solid, but that offense has a lot of question marks.
Also, the perception outside the conference is that Florida is probably gonna be third place behind UGA and Carolina. So I wasn’t really trying to make jabs at Florida: I was just stating what I thought was obvious.
________________________________________________________________________
Don’t forget that they are counting on their defense being really good with their top DE having ACL surgery just 6 short months ago. That’s counting on a lot.
Spanky
August 23rd, 2012
1:21 pm
Jeff, ain’t it a shame that you hafta ref some of these guys?! Doing a good job! Maybe you should help out during NFL PreSeason!! Those guys are clown-shoes!!
tooltime
August 23rd, 2012
1:22 pm
Jeff will there be sack the schultz again this year?
Rodster
August 23rd, 2012
1:22 pm
I think Dooley would get it turned around at UT but as you point out he started with the deck stacked against him and the brilliant influencers at UT will probably have his job before he has enough time.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:22 pm
Robodawg — I don’t blame coaches when a kid screws up. The kid screws up. But I blame coaches when they recruit an abundance of kids who screw up, and/or when coaches don’t set a tone and are not strong disciplinarians when their kids consistently screw up (which casts the program in a bad light).
D Fence
August 23rd, 2012
1:23 pm
Yea Gator – we will see come Oct 27 with the terrific two headed duo you guys have at QB, not to mention WR and a few other holes. Your “just another Orgeron” for a HC will be back to a DC position within two years once Foley has enough.
charliedawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:23 pm
Jeff, Dooley signed him, not Kiffin. Where is your proof that Lane and Ed had the double offer idea? I seriously doubt you talked to either of them. Beyond that, refer to first sentence. I can’t stand Kiffin, but that’s just not right. I haven’t seen any reporting this biased since NBC’s Nightly News broadcast last night……
Danimal
August 23rd, 2012
1:24 pm
“Anyway, welcome to Mr.Rogers Karma Neighborhood!..(que music while he changes shoes!)”
Pretty funny, Spanky!
OkieDawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:24 pm
Any kid who refers to himself as “Pretty Boy” must think very highly of himself. I hope the Nance family will be kind enough to give him a job in their carpet store if this poor kid can’t get his off field issues sorted out. Da’Rick has been a train wreck ready to happen since his Calhoun days. God given talent is a terrible thing to waste. What gets me is I’m sure he has had some excellent mentoring from some of the coaches he has been exposed to. Dooley, while a yet to be defined coach, is a good and decent person. His last high school coach is also a good man. I just hope there will be some kind of intervention to save this kid from himself.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:24 pm
Spanky — Thanks. But 1) I don’t want to get run over on the field and; 2) I could never wore those stripes.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:25 pm
Tooltime — “Sack Schultz 2012″ announcement coming tomorrow!!!
Boise Dawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:26 pm
Jeff,
I get your added point that Kiffin was initially responsible for recruiting Rogers, but are you trying to say that Dooley would not have recruited him? I am far from a Kiffin apologist, but I fail to see how Rogers problems are Kiffin’s fault anymore than they are Dooley’s.
I also think it is fair for Tennessee fans to question his success at this point. The top tier coaches in the country don’t seem to take more than 3 years to get a program going. I think the issue for Dooley is he wasn’t a proven head coach prior to coming to Tennessee. (Interesting that La Tech has improved as a program since he left)… and not a good sign when the assistants you lured to the program jumped ship this offseason.
Dooley seems like a nice guy and I wish him success against anyone but Georgia, but I don’t think that mandates Tennessee fans have to tolerate years of mediocrity and I haven’t seen anything from Dooley yet that indicates he can produce anything by mediocrity.
Abnerish
August 23rd, 2012
1:26 pm
Here I thought UGA was the only college football team that had issues like this. I’m shocked, shocked to learn that other universities have similar issues.
Bottom line, it’s not the coach’s fault unless there was a prior incident involving a recruit that would be a red flag. If they choose to ignore those red flags and recruit them anyway, THEN it falls on the head coach when the player messes up.
Jeff Schultz
August 23rd, 2012
1:27 pm
Charliedawg — Because Chip Towers wrote about it for AJC when it happened and Dooley confirmed it. And if that’s not good enough for you, Google. Or ask NBC Nightly News, for all I care.
Dirty Dawg
August 23rd, 2012
1:27 pm
Hey people, you folks have completely left out the ‘real’ culprit in this sorry episode. Nance’s Daddy was the one that got his nose out of joint when Georgia, who had already gotten Rogers’ verbal but wouldn’t also take the QB in the package claiming they had already had all the QB commits they were gonna take that year and the kid went ahead with Vandy. Then when circumstances changed and Georgia ended up getting the Huston kid from Cobb County. Daddy Nance, who had basically adopted Da’Rick a year or so prior in hopes that he would be able to help his ‘real’ son get an offer from a top SEC school, opened the door to Kiffin and had his boy back away from Vandy. Given that Rogers talent was such that any ‘punkiness’ that may have been rumored about him, was ignored by Dooley when he came on board…after all, Georgia had recruited him…why not? Bottom line there’s plenty of blame to go around…and given UT’s history of how they, ultimately, treat their Head Football Coaches once they become restless – Battle, Majors, Fulmer and now Dooley…Kiffin just beat em to the punch…the UT fan-base is deserving of a big share.
Dangerous
August 23rd, 2012
1:27 pm
The quick slant keeps Defenses from running down hill on the O all day. I’m sick of watching the run get stuffed or the qb getting sacked all day form play action pass because receivers are running 20 yrd routes. Can uga try to keep Quality D’s on their heels and guessing this year!!!
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:30 pm
Has anyone else noticed that Nash Nance has never seen the field at UT? I guess Bobo and CMR were right not to offer him.
JB
August 23rd, 2012
1:31 pm
Sadly, Dooley won’t be around to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He’ll leave 12 million dollars richer, more than ANY public educator will make in their entire career, but he has cleaned up the mess, remodeled the place ( the roster) and has gotten it ready for the next guy….and I’m afraid UT is so hungry to be relevant again, they may reach for a redeemed Petrino in 13. OUCH.
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:32 pm
Dangerous, I you are quite the arm chair offensive genius.
kerryb
August 23rd, 2012
1:34 pm
JB, no one is touching or even talking about Petrino in the near future. He would be lucking to get a Jr college gig right now or anytime in the future. I think Fulmer has more of a chance of going back to UT than them going after Petrino.