Rogers wins Conference
USA Defensive Player of the Year
By Ed De La Garza
Daily Cougar Staff
A week of recognition for UH senior linebacker
Wayne Rogers continued Wednesday when he was named Conference USA Co-Defensive
Player of the Year.
Southern Miss' Cedric Scott was also honored.
The award follows three accolades from
the conference and publications. Rogers was earlier named to the C-USA
First Team, was selected as a Third Team All-American by Collegefootballnews.com
and to the All-America Third Team by Football News.
Though the award was an individual honor,
Rogers was quick to thank those he felt were responsible for his success.
"I wouldn't have been able to do what I
did without my D-line," Rogers said. "Sam Hairston, Nikkia Adderson, Josh
Tubbs, Lee Ingersoll, all those guys have done a tremendous job in allowing
me to do what I've done this year."
Though he began the season playing with
his usual tenacity, Rogers' season didn't pick up steam until the sixth
game of the season, a 48-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Oct. 7.
Max Lacayo/The Daily Cougar
UH senior linebacker
Wayne Rogers earned Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors
for his intense play this season. Head coach Dana Dimel, right, stressed
the importance of recruiting more athletes like Rogers in years to come.
"As a senior, you've got to be able to
step up," Rogers said. "You've got to make the decisions and tell people
what's right and what's wrong."
Rogers had 54 tackles, two tackles for
loss and two quarterback sacks through the first five games, but a 16-tackle,
two-sack performance against the Bearcats marked the beginning of a six-game
tear. He compiled 80 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and eight sacks to end
the season.
Among them was a standout performance in
a 6-3 loss to then-powerhouse Southern Miss on Oct. 28. He recorded 16
tackles, seven of them for loss and two of them sacks.
"Wayne really learned how to take (the)
intangibles, his leadership qualities, and take his game to a completely
other level this season," head coach Dana Dimel said. "It all came through
just being a tough, hard-nosed individual that has a lot of pride in what
he does."
Rogers broke T.J. Turner's record, set
in 1983, for most tackles for loss in a single season with 26. For his
career, Rogers recorded 57 tackles for loss, as well as 330 total tackles
and 19 sacks.
The award was the first conference honor
for a UH defensive player since Wilson Whitley was named the Southwest
Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1976. Antowain Smith was the
last Cougar honored, winning the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year award
in 1996.
"I'm very proud to be a UH Cougar," Rogers
said. "To have that honor bestowed upon me is unbelievable."
Rogers' season isn't over. He will be representing
the University in the East-West Shrine Classic at Pac-Bell Stadium in San
Francisco, Calif., on Jan. 13.
"Right now, I'm just training and getting
ready for that game," Rogers said.
Rogers said he would also train for the
NFL combine (a camp where NFL coaches and scouts are allowed to get a first-hand
look at college players) and await results from the 2001 draft.
Dimel hopes Rogers' achievements will help
recruit top-caliber athletes capable of playing with the same type of intensity.
"Wayne needs to be recognized for what
he's done for this program over the four years," Dimel said. "(He's) brought
a lot of positive things, in the classroom and as a football player. Wayne
typifies what a student athlete should be."
