TAMPA, Fla. – Bryson Rodgers looks like and sounds like someone who wants to improve his stock in more ways than one each and every day while helping others do the same each and every day.
The appearance part of the equation surfaced Thursday morning when, during the Bulls’ fourth spring practice the former Wiregrass Ranch star receiver wowed offensive coordinator Tim Beck, among other observers, when he gained noticeable separation from a defender on an out route.
“His route running, you can see he has been with coach Hartline,” said Beck, who joined first-year coach Brian Hartline’s staff following a three-season stint as the head coach at Coastal Carolina, and whose resume includes coordinator positions at North Carolina State, Texas, Ohio State (where Hartline was later a receiver and OC) and Nebraska. “He is sharp. He gets it.”
Rodgers seems to also get it when it comes to the larger picture. Lest anyone think joining his coordinator and position coach at USF after three seasons at Ohio State will result in some sense of entitlement, well, think again.
“I don’t want to just walk in and, ‘Oh, he’s that guy from Ohio State and he can do whatever he wants,’” said Rodgers. “I am coming to work every day and I am challenging myself. I want to find ways to challenge myself. I know X,Y,Z of the offense and that’s cool, but how can I be a coach? How can I teach somebody else what I learn? It’s more about making everybody around me better.”
READ: Bulls Eye A New Era: 2016 National Coach Of The Year Chris Mack Takes Reins At USF
Rodgers is among a handful of new faces occupying the receiver room at USF. He has two years of eligibility after catching 11 passes in two active seasons with the Buckeyes after redshirting in 2023. He was around plenty of talent in Columbus that certainly made him better. Consider: Marvin Harrison, Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Then there was Hartline, a former Ohio State receiver who caught 90 passes and won four Big Ten titles before piling up 344 receptions in seven seasons in the NFL.
“I love learning from the guys that played ball, that have done what I’m trying to do,” he said, while talking about his relationship with Hartline and Egbuka, who had 63 receptions as a rookie with the Buccaneers last season.
While all of that is good and helpful, there is much more to it for Rodgers. That includes what Hartline has meant to his personal development.
“I came to college at Ohio State when I was 17 years old and he turned me from a boy to a man on and off the field,” said the now-21-year-old. “He is more than just trying to elevate you as a player. He’s more into making you a better person.”
Rodgers and Hartline are together less than 20 miles from where the former went to high school and where he has many family members and friends.
“It’s been a wonderful opportunity,” he said. “I can’t thank coach Hartline enough for giving me the opportunity to be here and around my family. I really embrace it.”
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