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Reviewing the class of 2007: RTT#25 Dennis Rogan

The review of the class of 2007 that we started back at the end of January got knocked off track by things that were actually happening, but now it's practically summer and therefore a good time to get the thing rolling again.

Prior posts in this series include Who Showed and Who Played (identifying the four guys who didn't even make it onto campus, the 13 guys who made it but didn't play, and the 15 guys who played at least to some degree), a review of RTT#31 Kevin Cooper's 2007 season, and a review of RTT#27 Savion Frazier's 2007 season. Today we take a look at RTT#25 Dennis Rogan's 2007 season, and in the following days, we'll look at the seasons that the following players had last year:

As a quick review, here's how Rogan's high school profile looked:

There was some question about Rogan's academic eligibility during the recruiting process, which could explain his relatively low standing in the rankings. I say "relatively" because his athletic numbers were downright jaw-dropping:

When Rogan scored on a 75-yard touchdown run as a freshman playing his first varsity game, it foreshadowed a brilliant high school career. His sophomore year, he rushed 68 times for 382 yards and seven touchdowns, but he really began to make a name for himself his junior year when he rushed for 2,112 yards and 31 (not a typo!) touchdowns. He also had 14 receptions for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Oh, and 31 tackles on defense. Little wonder why he was a finalist for the Class 3A Mr. Football.

As a senior, Rogan ran for 2,876 yards (!) and 44 (!!) touchdowns. He concluded the season and his high school career with back-to-back 200-yard games. Wait, that doesn’t quite do it justice, so let me be more specific: he gained 255 yards on the ground and had 406 (!!!) all-purpose yards versus Pearl-Cohn in the state semifinals (!!!!) and his 208 yards helped his team win the state championship over David Lipscomb. And he did it all with eight defensive players in the box.

When his high school career was in the books, Rogan had racked up 5,261 rushing yards and 81 touchdowns. He had scored a total of 572 points, 296 of which had come during his senior season alone.

Tennessee offered Rogan a scholarship once they were certain he would be eligible, and Rogan committed 24 hours later.

So how did he do for Tennessee as a true freshman? Great, considering it took the coaches half the season to discover just how valuable he could be. Rogan returned a whopping one kickoff in the first five games but then returned at least one in eight of the last nine games. He wasn't used as a punt returner at all until the ninth game against Louisiana-Lafayette, but then he returned 16 punts for 165 total yards in the last five games. So Rogan had 548 yards despite only playing essentially half of the season and then only on special teams. Toward the end of the season, Rogan started playing cornerback.

Games
Played
Punt Ret.
Kickoff
Ret.
Tackles

Passes
Def.

No
Yds
TD
No
Yds
TD
Ast
Solo
Asst
Loss
Solo
Loss
Loss
Yds
13
17
165
0
13
383
0
5
14
0
1
2
1

 

Opponent
Score
Part.
Punt Ret.
Kickoff
Ret.
Tackles
Passes
Def.
No
Yds
TD
No
Yds
TD
Ast
Solo
Asst
Loss
Solo
Loss
Loss
Yds
California
31-45
No
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Southern Miss.
39-19
Yes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Florida
20-59
Yes
0
0
0
1
31
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Arkansas St.
48-27
Yes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Georgia
35-14
Yes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Miss. St.
33-21
Yes
0
0
0
1
23
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Alabama
17-41
Yes
0
0
0
1
25
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
South Carolina
27-24
Yes
0
0
0
1
29
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
La.-Lafayette
59-7
Yes
1
0
0
1
25
0
2
4
0
0
0
1
Arkansas
34-13
Yes
4
32
0
1
78
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
Vanderbilt
25-24
Yes
3
72
0
3
74
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Kentucky
52-50
Yes
3
24
0
2
48
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
LSU
14-21
Yes
2
11
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
Wisconsin
21-17
Yes
4
26
0
2
50
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Totals
17
165
0
13
383
0
5
14
0
1
2
1