PULLMAN, Wash. – When asked about the biggest lesson he has learned in his coaching career, Washington State head coach Jimmy Rogers was direct with his answer.
“Attack your goals with a certain level of clarity and focus that’s unmatched. And if you can do that and not get caught up in what other people think, good things happen,” Rogers said.
The 37-year-old head coach is one of the 10 youngest coaches in Division I college football. He said the challenges facing the university are ones he is excited to solve, bringing his winning culture from Brookings, South Dakota, to the Palouse. In his two-year stint as head coach at South Dakota State, Rogers went 27-3 and won the 2023 national championship.
Rogers said he understands the environment he’s entering, with uncertainty surrounding the conference and an uphill battle in the NIL space, which he acknowledged as the biggest obstacle currently facing Washington State.
“A lot of our players that have decided to go into the portal, there are some of those players who are getting recruited by some of the SEC schools with the huge collectives. So do I think a lot of our players at the FCS could play at that level? Yes, I do. And a lot of them have joined us, and I’m excited for the future,” Rogers said.
Rogers brought in 15 players from South Dakota State to help replenish the roster and is fully confident they are able to play at this level. He also knows the current roster has a lot of talent and wants to utilize and develop those who remain from the Jake Dickert era at WSU.
I’m excited to coach this football team because of the players that were on this team last year. But yeah, I do think the collectives and the NIL are a big deal as far as continuing to try to get the right players in the door and recruit top-down because that’s what’s happening these days,” Rogers said.
Rogers also stressed his intent to develop and recruit players who aren’t driven by money and will buy into the culture he wants to build. While Rogers wants to pay players what they are worth and give them opportunities to strike NIL deals, he wants that to be a secondary concern to development and winning games as a team.
“You don’t make things about a dollar in a relationship. If the kids can feel your love in the spirit of how you’re trying to be a part of their life, they stay committed to you. There are still players out there like that, and I coached a bunch of them at South Dakota State. We just need an opportunity here at Washington State to bring in the right kids who are really about substance and not a dollar. And we’re going to work to try to do our best to provide the best life we possibly can for the players we get to coach. We’ll see how it shakes, but I’m excited for the future,” Rogers said
