NEW ORLEANS, La. — Isaiah Rodgers' road to Super Bowl LIX has been less than conventional. He was barely recruited as a senior at Blake High School in 2016, but he found a home at UMass - a school with minimal football history.
Many considered Rogers undersized. However, the defensive back and kick returner, who jokes that he weighed 135 pounds after high school, is on the brink of a Super Bowl title.
Rodgers' standout individual career caught the eye of the Indianapolis Colts, and they selected him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. After a promising start to his career, Rodgers was suspended for the entire 2023 season for violating the NFL's policy on gambling.
The Colts released him, so Rodgers was forced to stay home and wait for the phone to ring. This spring, his agent, an Eagles fan, called him and told him Philadelphia wanted to sign him. Isaiah packed his bags for Pennsylvania and never looked back.
"I’d think you’re lying," Rodgers said when asked if he thought his career would lead him to this point. "I think you’re just talking because that’s every kid's dream. I really wouldn’t believe it because I didn’t believe it for myself. Now that it’s happening, it’s a dream come true."
Rodgers says he never hesitates to thank Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and the management team who took a chance on signing him.
"Just being able to take that risk. Just knowing 'Isaiah’s going to do what he needs to do to come and be ready and be prepared.' I took that risk of saying, 'They trust that I’ll do these things.' I couldn’t let ‘em down," Rodgers said via video chat. "It all just played out pretty good."
Rodgers loves sharing his experience via social media, but the internet can be a mix of positive and negative energies. Although there are plenty of uplifting posts, some took jabs at Isaiah's suspension. But he says he embraces all of it, and it serves as fuel for his 5 a.m. training sessions.
"It keeps me motivated. I just remember all the things people said," Rodgers explained. "I got a folder in my phone. Different screen shots of different people and what they said about me. Just charge into the game and keep going."
Isaiah admitted his personal cell phone is full. It started filling up during the playoffs and has never stopped.
"Once you respond to people they text you back, so it adds more messages. So it never goes away." Rodgers laughed. "So I’m like ‘Cool, I got 100 left.’ So all 300 people that I’ve responded to already - they respond back saying ‘You’re welcome.’ So it’s like 400 more. So I just start ‘liking’ messages at that point."
Rodgers said he wants his career to motivate other young players who are undersized and underestimated, to help them overcome adversity on and off the field.
"It’s hard when you’re coming up and you don’t really have the guidance and things like that," Isaiah continued. "So I just try to give back to the community and just try to help them have that faith and confidence. Because it really starts with yourself. You have to believe in yourself before anything."
Rodgers' cousin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromarite, played in two Super Bowls during his 12-year NFL career, but he never won a ring. Isaiah said Dominique told him, "Someone in the family [has to win a Super Bowl]," so his goal is to get the job done.
The Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled to kick off in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday at 6:30 from the Caesers Superdome in New Orleans.
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