NFL Scouting Combine: Da'Rick Rogers talks changed character after failed drug tests

Da'Rick Rogers says he failed three drug tests at Tennessee, but that he's changed. His character could keep the first-round talent from being a first-round pick, but if he's to be believed, it shouldn't be an issue in the pros.

By Rodger Sherman Feb 22, 2013, 2:59pm EST

A major question about talented receiver Da'Rick Rogers is his character, but the troubled wide receiver indicated that the the drug issues that got him kicked off of Tennessee are a thing of the past.

Rogers told media at the NFL Draft Combine Friday that he failed three drug tests at Tennessee. However, after transferring to Tennessee Tech, he was tested 10 times -- and came up clean each time:

Da'Rick Rogers said he failed 3 drug tests at Tenn. None since leaving.
— Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft) February 22, 2013

Rogers is an athletic freak: 6'2, too strong to press, and with a pre-combine 4.52, 40 time. His CBS Sports draft profile compares him to Julio Jones, and Friday at the combine, he compared himself to Dez Bryant and Michael Crabtree -- a comparison Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft said sounded "about right." That should make him a first-round lock, but the problems at Tennessee will likely hold him until the second or third round.

Mocking the Draft's Matthew Fairburn was sold on Rogers' character change:

Da'Rick Rogers impressed me with his honesty. Knows he screwed up, thinks he's changed.
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) February 22, 2013

On the other hand, getting kicked out of Tennessee might have been a blessing in disguise: instead of playing alongside fellow top wide out prospects Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson, Rogers was the feature player at Tennesese Tech, where he had twice as many receptions as anybody else on the team, finishing his junior year with 893 yards and 10 touchdowns.