The wait was worth it for Rogers

Initially miffed with being relegated to redshirt status, Jalen Rogers now sees value in that season on the bench.

A two-way standout during Cienega (Ariz.) High School’s run to a sectional championship in 2011, Rogers spent his first year at Mesa Community College working with the scout team.

Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the situation.

“I was fresh out of high school, started both ways since l was young and ‘Man, why am I not playing?’ I’m redshirting at a junior college. I’m mad,” Rogers recalled.

Recruited as a receiver, Rogers caught the eye of Mesa’s secondary coach while filling in at safety in practice. He made the full-time move to defense the following year and performed well enough to receive an offer from Hawaii with three years of eligibility left on his clock.

After seeing time at just about every spot in the Rainbow Warrior secondary the past two seasons, Rogers enters his senior season locked in at cornerback and now grateful for having to wait a year at Mesa.

“It ended up being the best blessing I had,” Rogers said. “I had three seasons on this beautiful island and it was one of the best things I ever could have done.”

Rogers started seven games last season in various roles but settled in at cornerback this season following the losses of two starters in Nick Nelson and Ne’Quan Phillips. Preseason previews citing UH’s turnover at cornerback as a question mark added to the edge Rogers and company carried into training camp.

“We just feel like some people kind of wrote us off,” said Rogers, whose interception against UNLV last season accounted for one-third of UH’s team total. “We just had to bite down and bark back.”

Jamal Mayo, who broke up two passes in a backup role last season, holds down the other corner spot and UH secondary coach Abe Elimimian said the senior “made the biggest improvement out of all the defensive backs.”

“It’s a lonely position at times,” said Elimimian, who picked off 12 passes as a UH cornerback. “It’s just you, your receiver and 100,000 fans. You have to have extreme focus where you focus on your technique and you’re also extremely confident that you can make the play.”

Safety Daniel Lewis (47 tackles, three pass breakups) returns among the unit’s leaders and Trayvon Henderson is back after missing all but two games last year due to torn ACL. Senior Damien Packer also has seen extensive time with the first unit, with junior Austin Gerard and freshmen Keala Santiago and Kalin Hicks also working with the second team.

DEFENSIVE BACKS