Staff writer Ben McKee and managing editor Nathanael Rutherford contributed to this article
Tennessee has made the top five for one of the top linemen in the 2020 recruiting cycle, and he’ll be announcing his college commitment very soon.
Justin Rogers is a four-star offensive/defensive lineman out of Michigan. Per Rogers’ Twitter account, the No. 1 offensive guard in the country will be committing on May 20th at Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan. Rogers will be picking between Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Michigan.
I will be committing May 20 at Oak Park High School let me know who trying to come DM me y’all have to see this be there at 4:00 pm????? pic.twitter.com/hGJSRkyCAT
— Justin Rogers (@AllAmerican52JR) May 8, 2019
At 6-foot-2 and 311 pounds, Rogers is the No. 30 overall player in the country and the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan. Kentucky currently leads in 247Sports’ crystal ball predictions. The Cats have received 33 percent of the predictions while Tennessee has received 22 percent. Ohio State has received 17 percent, and Georgia has received 11 percent.
Rogers’ most recent visit to Tennessee was the weekend of the Orange & White game. He has since visited Kentucky on April 26th and is scheduled to visited Georgia on May 17th, just days before he makes his announcement.
247Sports projects Rogers as a future second round pick and compares him to former Georgia offensive lineman and current New England Patriot Isaiah Wynn.
Looking at his film, Rogers has impressive strength and a solid base. He pancakes defenders time and time again on offense, and he does a decent job of not getting his hands too high and using good technique. He still needs to work on consistency there, as he relies on his strength more than his fundamentals at times. But he has an extremely good foundation to build off of on that side of the ball. On defense, Rogers is much quicker than you’d expect him to be, and he moves exceptionally well off the line. He has great burst off the point of attack.
Overall, it’s easy to see that Rogers is getting by a bit with his superior strength and athleticism in high school, but he has just about all the tools both offensive line coaches and defensive line coaches like prospects to have.
Though most schools are recruiting Rogers as an offensive lineman, Tennessee is recruiting him to play defensive tackle. The athletic and versatile lineman even played middle linebacker for Oak Park while also playing defensive end as a junior. He competed at the Under Armour Future 50 event as a defensive lineman.
Rogers has noted that playing along the defensive line is important to him, which is why he has been so interested in Tennessee.
