Bailey Rogers departure

[Affirm]

What comments and opinions and information will Furman football supporters make about the transfer of Bailey Rogers from Furman to USC as a walk-on due to “not a good fit”? Why not a good fit? Why not as good a fit for him as he thought Furman would be? How big a loss? I believe we need more in-state players who are good to come to Furman, although we also obviously need those players and Furman to be “a good fit”. I realize we will probably not be able to really know why the Rogers departure happened.

[PaladinDad]

Just my opinion, but playing time or offensive style is usually the root of the "not a good fit" for WR's. As far as Furman recruiting the state, I agree it would be great to get more good players out of South Carolina. Furman has done a great job recruiting Georgia, Tennesee, etc, but kids in South Carolina don't know what Furman has to offer. Most kids from the lowcountry and the metro know very little about Furman at the moment. Hopefully the more we get back to winning, the more that will change.

[AstroDin]

My guess too is playing time… and the WR/Slot position in the current Furman offense sees the ball on options.
I have no idea if Rogers was a fit.

Let's not forget two SC products at WR that will get a lot of PT in 2018.
Avery Armstrong - Dreher 6-1 190
Ryan DeLuca - Fort Mill 6-0 167
also have incoming freshman Dejaun Bell North Augusta 5-9 160

don't forget Cam Burnette - Summerville 6-2 209

[Paul C]

My daughter and Bailey went to HS together and were/are good friends. He’s a terrific kid. Don’t read too much into him leaving. It just didn’t work out. Didn’t note any ill will in some limited communications back and forth. Suspect it was a combo of frustration from his injuries, logjam at the position and the style of play. Would love to see him get some PT and contribute at SC, he deserves it.

[Paul C]

I still don’t get the obsession with recruiting kids from SC. Why?

Sure, I get that it’s nice to have LOCAL kids come to FU and do well (Reese Hannon, Andrew Brown, Jake Crawford to name a few), as it gets us some additional local press, but once you get outside the local area what does it matter if they are from Charlotte or Charleston? Atlanta or Aiken? Raleigh or Rock Hill?

[Affirm]

There are several reasons for the obsession, and I’ll try to list them one at a time as time permits.

[Jasper]

I don't think it is a big mystery or in any way unusual these days. The kid feels he can make a major contribution on a college level and the FU coaching staff does not feel the same way. I have watched this kid closely. I guess I wanted to see the local HS hero work out well for the Paladin program. Bailey had a magical HS career as a wideout and returner; winning several games with last second TD's off long returns or receptions. As a freshman at FU he got playing time on special teams as return specialist and quite honestly did not show very much. From my observations at the beginning of last summer's practices, Bailey was lining up as the starter in the slot position in the FU offense. The simple fact is that he was apparently outplayed as time went on by the 2 incoming freshmen named earlier (Armstrong & DeLuca) in this thread who were converted HS QBs and who suited the versatility requirements for this particular offense at that position. About two weeks into practice sessions, Bailey had clearly lost his spot. I expect that position to be utilized a lot more as this offense matures this season. After suffering a slight practice injury, Bailey returned and as I recall was not on the 2 deep for the rest of the season and had even lost his return position. I felt very badly for the kid as I watched him hanging around the periphery of team huddles throughout the season in games and practice. His body language indicated that he would likely be leaving the program in some way in the future and so he has. I had hoped he would fit the FU offense in the mode of that walk-on wideout at Clemson who catches everything thrown at him and then some. I am sure that he feels the same way and hope he has great success at USC. The "fit" here was just not good. He was not going to beat out Gordon and Burnett at the wideouts and the slot position requires inside running ability, option run/pass speed wide plus a deep receiving threat on circle routes - not to mention blocking assignments. In other words, a ton of athletic ability and some decent size. I expect DeLuca in particular to have a big season this year. I also think Bailey Rogers' situation is a reflection of a program that is upgrading the caliber of recruits under this staff. As to the need to recruit more locally, I don't think its that important to the program other than as a feel good thing.

[Davemeister]

Furman is not an easy school and a Liberal Arts education is not for everyone. When undergrads transfer, it is frequently because they are not a "good fit" in the classroom. This applies to athletes as well as the entire student body.

Not saying this was the case with Rogers, but it may have figured into his calculations.

[Affirm]

Reason 1: Bleacher Report article dated March 9, 2018, ranks SC among the top 10 states nationally for HS football talent (#10).

[Affirm]

Reason #2: Symbootic positive relationship between SC and FU should exist, for the natural good of both SC and FU.

[Affirm]

Reason #3: SC players at FU should attract more SC students to FU for college, due to friendships and publicity.

[Affirm]

Reason #4: SC needs, and is served by FU on many ways. FB players being from SC may indirectly highlight that fact.

[Affirm]

Reason # 5: More game attendance at FU by SC residents per each SC player than by nonresidents per each nonresident player.

[Affirm]

Reason #6: Attracts other SC athletes to FU.

[Affirm]

Reason #7: state lottery supported scholarships make it less expensive to cover the cost of attendance by an SC resident.