Former Tech great Nick Rogers dies

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By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nick Rogers, a former Georgia Tech star who played four seasons in the NFL, has died.

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2002 file photo Nick Rogers, former Georgia Tech football player

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Rogers, 30, was killed in a single-vehicle wreck in College Park about 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Fulton County medical examiner. Rogers' vehicle left the road and struck a power pole, the medical examiner's office said.

Rogers married his longtime sweetheart less than a month ago, friends said.

An East Point native and St. Pius X grad, Rogers teamed with Greg Gathers to form one of the nation's best defensive end tandems in 2000 and 2001, seasons that ended with Rogers earning second-team All-ACC honors.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Rogers in the sixth round in 2002 and converted him to linebacker. He had 34 tackles and two sacks as a rookie.

After football, Rogers opened a barber shop and recently began rehabbing homes with his father, said a close friend, former Tech running back Sean Gregory.

Gregory said the 6-2, 255-pound Rogers, who came in as a running back like older brother Phillip, "was the best athlete on our football team, hands down, a freak of nature. But you would never know it by talking to him, just the humblest guy."

Former teammate Brent Key, a guard who lined up against Rogers in practice, said Rogers had a "great first step off the edge. He was so fast and explosive. I'm out here on the road recruiting [for Central Florida, where he's offensive line coach] and that's the type of kid you look for."

Gregory said Rogers' dedication to his wife, Kia Jackson-Rogers, stretched back more than a decade and once got him in trouble with coach George O'Leary.

"We had a a team meeting as freshmen and Nick stands up and says he had to miss a function or a meeting or something," said Gregory, now a graduate assistant under O'Leary at Central Florida. "Coach O'Leary asks him why and Nick said, ‘I got to go to prom with my girl.' She was a senior in high school.

"Coach was like, ‘Prom? Are you kidding me?' He let him go but he gave him that stern O'Leary look. All the fellas, we got on him for years about that. He went to prom for Kia."

Rogers, who earned a management degree from Tech in 2003, came from a Tech family. His brother, Phillip, started at tailback in 1999 and finished his career with 15 rushing touchdowns. His younger sister, Dana, was a track All-American and ACC champion hurdler.

"And he has two parents who meant the world to all of us," Gregory said. "They would bring the players in for holidays. Nick was really one of my brothers; we were all brothers."

All three Rogers kids graduated from St. Pius. The school's athletic director, Mark Kelly, said the news "just breaks everyone's heart here -- I mean, he just got married three weeks ago.

"Nick was one of the single nicest young men, very humble, especially considering how talented he was. Just a pleasure to know."

Above all, Gregory said, he'll remember Rogers' exuberance.

"He was an upbeat guy who never let anything really bother him," Gregory said. "He never actually realized how great of a football player he was. He just had a zest for life that was amazing. He brought us so much laughter, got us through the hard days and the two-a-day grind of football."