We interrupt what will no doubt be wall-to-wall Urban Meyer resignation/retirement talk for a post that’s very important to people who are approximately 3,000 miles away from the maelstrom in Gainesville.
Apparently, there were rumors making the rounds Tuesday that Oregon State’s outstanding running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, had decided he was going to forego his final year of eligibility in Corvallis and make himself available for the 2011 NFL draft.
While that may ultimately end up being the case -- we wouldn’t bet on it, though -- Rodgers has vehemently denied any decision has been made on that front.
“People don’t know what they’re talking about,” Rodgers told the Portland Tribune Tuesday, although he refused to comment any further. Associate athletic director Steve Fenk told The Oregonian that he spoke with Rodgers on Tuesday and wrote in an email the back “reiterated to me that he is in fact staying.”
Obviously a lot of things can happen in the 37 days until a player officially has to declare his draft intentions to make someone like Rodgers change his mind. But, based on his stated desire in the past to finish out his collegiate eligibility -- not to mention the fact that his brother, OSU wide receiver James, suffered a season-ending injury and he doesn’t want to end their playing on the same team like that -- it would appear that it would be more than a mild surprise if Rodgers left a year of eligibility on the table.
