The Path To Pro Football For Aaron Rodgers Was Through Competitive JuCo’s and a Hard Earned D1 Scholarship

The Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has come a long way to make it to the top. Most of the quarterbacks playing in the league hail from D1 colleges, and that paved the way for such athletes to bag a spot in the NFL. However, in the case of Aaron Rodgers, he had to struggle a lot to earn a scholarship after months and years of performance at junior college. He was lucky enough to have caught the attention of coach Jeff Tedford, who paved the way for Rodgers to compete at the highest level of college football.

While speaking on the Late Show with David Letterman, Rodgers spoke about various topics, including his Super Bowl victory in the 2010 season. Letterman asked the quarterback what stopped him from getting into a high school.

“I think for a number of reasons, one I wasn’t, you know, even today, I’m not gonna be the guy who pops out as you know, I’m not six-five, I’m not 240,” he said on the show. “But I think a lot of times the things you can’t measure off are things that give people the most success,” he added. Well, the rest is history.

Even before opting for a career in pro football, the veteran was actually inclined towards baseball and joining the armed forces.

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However, his fate landed him in a Junior college in Northern California, where he aced at the quarterback position. Since no team offered him a scholarship, Rodgers had no choice but to enroll in a community college.

Aaron Rodgers explains how he got a scholarship at the University of California

Even though Rodgers couldn’t impress the coaches with his physique, his gameplay made a surreal impact in the workout sessions. He joined the Butte Community College. As a freshman, Rodgers was just 5’3″. By the time he reached the college, he stood 6’2″.

He threw for 26 touchdowns and led the Butte to a conference title, ranking second in the country with a 10-1 season record. His fortune shined when the Cali head coach Jeff Tedford visited to recruit a tight end. That’s when Rodgers’ tape crossed his attention, and guess what, Tedford was impressed.

“Cal was looking at a tight end. Jeff Tedford actually came up to watch the workout. He liked my workout and ended up offering me, you know, as he drove home, he called me and offered me a scholarship,” Rodgers revealed on the show. In no time, the year 2005 marked the entry of Packers QB into the NFL.

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