New Bears in Town: Cal Frosh WR Trevor Rogers

You might say former Acalanes (Lafayette, CA) High Schoo wide receiver Trevor Rogers was born to be a Bear. With his father John a former National Champion Cal water polo player, his brother Chris a former Bear receiver, his cousin a Cal volleyball player and his sister a Cal student as well, the 6-3/200 frosh joined the list of Bears in the Rogers family with his commitment to Cal last year.

"Yeah, my dad was a polo player, my brother played receiver, my sister played soccer here and I had a cousin who played volleyball, too, Rogers said. "He graduated last year. My dad had Cal plaques in the house, like National Championship stuff from the water polo team. So it's always been in my blood since I was young.

"I went to a couple games when I was young, but all the time on Saturdays, we usually had youth football games, or soccer or always some other sport. But I did get to my fair share of Cal games growing up for sure."

The family tradition and proximity were big factors for the future Bear receiver but the atmosphere in the locker room and wide receiver room set by receivers coach Burl Toler was the clincher.

"It's great," Rogers said of his relationship with Toler. “Coach Toler, he's the guy. With him coaching my brother, I saw how stuff went out and I knew I wanted to be a part of a wide receiver group that could really bond and get better. So I knew coach Toler was the right guy.

"It’s a real family vibe. All the players hang out with every player. There's no real cliques or any off-to-the-side stuff. Everybody hangs out and they act as a team and that's something I want to be a part of.”

Did Toler’s history as a standout receiver catching balls from future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rogers play a role in his decision, too?

"Yeah, because he was on one of the greatest Cal teams ever so he definitely knows what it takes to succeed in Berkeley," Rogers said. "He could give me tips because he's done it before. So it's great to have him as a resource."

Rogers also stood out on the track as a part of last season’s state runner-up 4x100 relay team with a blazing 40.9 time and also winning state in the long jump this season at nearly 25 feet.

Rogers followed up his strong junior season where he hauled in 58 receptions for 1,120 yards and 15 TDs with an even stronger senior year with 1,231 yards on 74 catches with 16 more TDs, also adding 4 interceptions on defense for the 3AA state champ Dons.

"It was really special," Rogers said of the championship. "We got to make the trip down to LA, spend time out there with all your teammates, all your best friends. Lafayette and Acalanes is a pretty small school. So seeing the whole town and being able to have that experience of winning a big game, one of the big sporting events was really cool. Everybody, the whole town was behind that. So it was a really cool experience. Like, when we drove off, there were hundreds of people lined up at like 5am before we drove down to LA and there was a police escort. It was one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of."

With home being little more than 15 minutes away, the transition to Cal has been an easy one for the former 3 star receiver.

"It's been smooth, Rogers noted. I mean, I'm not coming too far away. Like some other guys are coming from Tallahassee (punter Bobby Engstler), somebody's coming from Jersey (MLB Liam Johnson), you know? And it's made it a lot easier that all the guys after practice, we go we'll have lunch together, we go to classes together, walk together, just getting to know one another and knowing that nobody's alone in their experience in new in a new place. It's nice." 

Some of those team bonding experiences involve Rogers educating his new Bears teammates on the best places to eat and shop.

"Oh yeah, the best places to eat, the best boba shops, where do you get the nice shoes, the best price all that stuff?,” Rogers said with a smile. “Close to the dorm, IB's (Hoagies) is good. There's a couple of good places next to us. There's a Share Tea, which is a good boba place. King Pin Donuts, that's just next to us. Top Dog? Oh, that's right next to Blackwell. That's great. Yeah, love some Top Dog."

With the season less than two months away, it’s getting more real to the new Bear receiver, who’s hoping to make the travel squad to experience early road trip to some iconic football venues to kick off the season however he can.

"I'm looking forward to really getting to feel the atmosphere of college football,” Rogers said. “We have some big games. We're at Auburn, at Florida State. Hopefully I can bust into that travel roster, whether it's played receiver or special teams, or I'll do whatever I can do to help the team because it's not an easy thing, especially as a freshman but being able to experience two of those stadiums would be pretty great."

As for what he brings to the field?

"Definitely a deep ball threat and size and speed," Rogers said. "Coming off track season I feel pretty fast (10.7 100). But there's a lot of that too in our receiver room. We have a lot of size, a lot of speed. But I think that's one thing I can do pretty well."

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