Not too many former college football players can point to a Heisman Trophy sitting in their TV room and persuade you to pick it up to feel its weight, but former South Carolina running back George Rogers can.
As we anticipate Saturday night’s season opener between South Carolina and North Carolina in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, one of the greatest Gamecock athletes of all time is the star of this week’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.”
Rogers had 27 games in which he rushed for more than 100 yards for USC. In 1980, he won that Heisman Trophy (which turns out to be surprisingly heavy) after an extraordinary senior season.
Following his college career at USC, Rogers became the first overall pick of the 1981 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and immediately led the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie. He played for seven seasons in the NFL, for New Orleans and Washington, and was a two-time Pro Bowler who once scored 18 touchdowns in a single season. In his final NFL season, in 1987, Rogers won a Super Bowl ring with Washington.
Now 64 years old, Rogers and his wife, Brenda, live about 20 minutes from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. A 13-foot statue of Rogers stands near the stadium.
Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends.
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