Our guest for this week’s ITG Next Florida 4 Questions with the Coach spotlight is Jamie Rodgers, who is a month into his second season as the head football coach of the Bradford Tornadoes.
Rodgers’ return to Florida after three seasons as the head coach at Georgia’s Cook High was a successful one last year as he led Bradford to a semifinal appearance in the FHSAA state playoffs. So far Rodgers has picked right up where he and his Bradford football team left off in 2022 with an undefeated start to the 2023 season.
Q. Coach Rodgers, so far so good in the 2023 season. Your Bradford football team has come out playing well in these first few weeks, which must make you and your staff feel really good about things so far, right?
A. It has been a very good start to the year. Two of the three wins so far this year have been against region opponents, including a 12-0 victory over our biggest rival, Baker County. I’m blessed to have an incredible staff that pushes the players to be the best they can be. Last year’s success made our returners hungry for more.
Q. Did coming so close to the big prize at the end of last season serve as a motivator for you and the team as you went through spring and summer workouts?
A. The week after our semifinal loss to Cocoa, I wrote on our board in the weight room the scores of the two games we lost. Every day we lift, we have to look at that. Playing that late in the playoffs is hard to do. This team wants to return, and they had a great spring and summer. Seventeen returning seniors have provided some great leadership.
Q. Last spring we featured you in a story that outlined many of the trials and tribulations you had gone through in your personal life, which included a battle with Covid, not only yourself, but your father as well. It almost forced you to give up coaching; are you thankful now that you decided to stick with it?
A. I’m so thankful I am still in the coaching/teaching profession. It’s a fulfilling job that has its struggles, but the rewards are great. Seeing young people reach dreams and goals is awesome. This game has given me so much. I have had great people pour into me, and I am trying to do the same.
Q. Who are some of the playmakers you’re going to be counting on the rest of this year to get this team back the playoffs?
A. Chalil Cummings, WR/DB. He’s being recruited by FSU, Miami, Minnesota, Nebraska, UCF, USF, and more. Dae’jon Shanks, WR/QB (MTSU, Iowa State, Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern). Chason Clark, LB/TE (committed to Marshall). Torrin Brazzell, DE/TE ( Western Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan).
