Decatur's Rogers drafted by Detroit Lions

Victor Rogers, a 1997 Decatur graduate, was selected by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the NFL draft on Sunday.

Rogers was in Federal Way with his mother, Cynthia Goins, for the weekend’s draft. While most draft analysts expected Rogers to be selected by a team by the third round, Rogers wasn’t selected by the Lions until the seventh round, with the third-to-last pick overall.

Rogers was a unanimous USA Today and Parade All-America selection as an offensive lineman during his senior year at Decatur.

Now a 6-foot-7, 335-pound offensive tackle, Rogers helped Colorado to a 10-3 record and was an All-America second-team selection by CNN/SI and was named an All-Big 12 Conference first-team pick by the league’s coaches. He also earned Associated Press, third-team All-America honors.

This season, Rogers helped Colorado to a 62-36 upset of then No. 2 ranked Nebraska and a 39-37 win over then No. 3 Texas for the Big 12 championship. Colorado lost to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Rogers allowed just two quarterback sacks total in his final three seasons at Colorado.

A broadcast journalism major, Rogers was the recipient of the team’s Hang Tough Award, presented by the coaching staff to the player that overcame the most adversity during his college career.

He received seven surgeries in a 15-month span in his freshman and sophomore years. As a sophomore, Rogers dislocated his patella while playing against the University of Washington in Seattle.

Questions about his past injuries might have kept some NFL teams from drafting him in earlier rounds.

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