[1] Rodgers played high school football at Banning High School in Wilmington, California, where he was teammates with Jamelle Holieway, Leroy Holt, Bob Whitfield, Courtney Hall, Mark Tucker, Ed Lalau, and Marvin Pollard.
In Rodgers' junior year, Banning won the L.A. City Section 4A championship, defeating their crosstown archrival Carson High School.
The NCAA allowed players who were not involved in the recruiting scandal to transfer to other universities and not lose any eligibility, nor be required to sit out for a year.
Rodgers then transferred to the University of Washington, where he played with one of his high school and childhood friends, Terrence Powe.
[2] Rodgers helped engineer a Huskies defense that went undefeated and won the 1992 Rose Bowl.