Amari Rogers suffered a torn ACL back in late March leaving Tiger fans wondering who would be playing the slot in his absence. Most players typically take anywhere from nine months to a full year before they are ready to get back on the field. There have been some exceptions however, with a handful of guys coming back as early as six months later.
On Thursday night, before the Tigers opener against Georgia Tech and just five months removed from his ACL repair, Rogers was dressed out in full pads and running routes and fielding punts with teammates during pregame. It was nothing short of remarkable to see, but taking part in warm ups is a far cry from playing for real right?
During his weekly teleconference on Sunday night, Dabo Swinney says,
“Amari is in a really good place. He’s close. So we’ll see. I think he is definitely ahead of schedule and is doing great.’
When asked specifically whether Rogers could see action vs the Aggies, he replied,
“His timeline is moved up and I would say anything is possible at this point.”
Diondre Overton got the start in the slot in the Tigers first game and has been taking the first team reps in his absence. With receiver being one of the deepest positions on the team, the coaching staff has no need to rush Rogers back. They have the luxury of taking their time and making sure Rogers is 100% before bringing him back. That being the case, it’s likely it is a couple of more weeks before we see actually see him in a game, but with the advances in medicine these days and the work ethic of Rogers, never say never.
