Notre Dame Is Battling To Get Khamauri Rogers's Last Official Visit
With official visits now getting set we are going to learn a lot about which prospects are truly interested in Notre Dame. That is the case with Lexington (Miss.) Holmes County cornerback Khamauri Rogers.
Rogers is an elite cover corner that is very high on Notre Dame's board. A case could be made that he is one of the top two or three must-get prospects in the 2022 class for Notre Dame. The Irish just don't get many players with his ability, especially when those players are from the South.
Rogers released a top six consisting of Notre Dame, Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Mississippi State on April 3. Out of that group, Rogers has already scheduled officials to Miami (June 18) and Tennessee (June 25), and he also confirmed to Irish Breakdown that he will be taking official visits to Ole Miss and Mississippi State as well.
That leaves Texas A&M and Notre Dame with one school as the odd man out. That's certainly not the ideal scenario for Notre Dame, and with Rogers not even sure if he is going to take a visit to South Bend it means the Irish are near the bottom of his top group.
So far, the Fighting Irish have done a quality job in selling their ability to develop talent on the defensive side of the football. Notre Dame has been a regular in producing NFL-caliber talent in recent years, especially on defense, and that fact was duly noted by Rogers when he spoke about his interest in the program.
“I like Coach [Marcus] Freeman and how he coaches,” Rogers told Irish Breakdown. “I like his scheme and I feel like he prepares you very well. He has compared my film to the film that he watches with his players. It’s very similar in how he wants to use and develop me.”
Freeman has been a vocal, active recruiting asset for the Fighting Irish in this race, but Rogers has also been in close contact with Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens as well.
“I like that he plays a lot of man coverage, and I like making picks,” Rogers noted.
When it comes down to the factors that will eventually dictate his college decision, Rogers stated that he wants to go to a school that will develop him properly with an end goal of reaching the NFL. Whichever program is able to help refine and add to Rogers' skill set the most, that is the school he will choose.
“I’m a technician,” Rogers mentioned. “I have good footwork and I have good ball skills. You’re not going to beat me at the line. I think I can work on my off-man coverage, but I feel like I’m pretty good at whatever you need me to do.”
That type of confidence has aided Rogers in his development so far, and it's the aggressive mindset that he hopes will carry him on college as well. In terms of picking that college, Rogers says that if he doesn't verbally commit before his senior season, then he's likely to do so at a post-season All-American game.
If Notre Dame is able to secure Rogers' fifth official visit, then the Fighting Irish have a proverbial fighting chance in this recruitment, but it will be difficult to come from behind without have the benefit of that official.
At the moment, Rogers holds a 4.5 grade on the IB scale. Here is the Irish Breakdown analysis of the elite corner:
"Rogers is a smooth and fluid athlete with loose hips. His long strides mask his speed a bit, but I have yet to see a wide receiver outrun him on a vertical route. Despite being so smooth, Rogers shows suddenness as an athlete, possessing exceptionally quick feet and explosive change of direction ability. His technique is still underdeveloped, but he's so athletic that he's able to quickly recover with ease and drive on routes.
"When I talk about him being a high IQ player you can see it with how he plays the ball as well. He takes tremendous angles when breaking on routes, and he constantly beats wideouts to the spot, which helps him get his hands on a lot of throws and he forces a high number of incompletions. MaxPreps has Rogers down for 38 career pass breakups and six interceptions in 31 games.
"Rogers also shows impressive feel for reading the eyes of receivers on deep throws, and he uses his length and fast hands to play the ball, making him hard to throw over the top against.
"What keeps Rogers from being a five-star right now is his thin frame, lack of strength. The good news is most of that is correctable. He is willing to come downhill as a run defender and he's a sound tackler, but he needs to get a lot stronger and improve his block destruction ability. His lack of strength could also give him some trouble against bigger, more physical receivers. Once he adds more strength and cleans up his footwork I see Rogers jumping into five-star status."
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