On the surface, the 2018 numbers for Texas A&M redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kendrick Rogers are pretty average -- if that.
21 catches for 292 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's it. But when you dig a little deeper, that's when things get interesting, to put it mildly.
Quiet nearly the rest of the year, Rogers came to play in A&M's two biggest home games of the year. Against No. 2 Clemson and then-No. 7 LSU, Rogers combined for 10 catches for 173 yards and all four of his touchdowns. In other words, nearly half his catches, more than half of his yardage and all of his scores came against two of the nation's top 10 teams.
"Honestly, I still haven't figured out what happened," he said with a shrug after the 74-72, seven overtime win against LSU. In that game, Rogers officially had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns, but his three two-point conversions, which helped secure his place in Aggie lore.
Nobody else has figured it out either.
Largely silent throughout the year, Rogers has made amazing catches at critical moments against two of A&M's toughest opponents (against the third, No. 1 Alabama, he had four catches for 38 yards). The biggest catches -- his four touchdowns -- all belong on a highlight reel.
The first, against Clemson, cut the Tigers' lead to 21-13 with 4:21 to go in the 3rd quarter. Rogers out-jumped two Clemson defenders bracketing him and used every inch of his 6-foot-5 frame to pull in the pass and hold onto it as he was pulled down awkwardly. The second, with just 47 seconds left, came off a tipped pass from 14 yards out that he pulled off the turf.
For the game, Rogers ended up with 7 catches for 120 yards and the two scores. It looked like the Aggies had finally found a big, fast deep threat -- but Rogers largely disappeared after the Alabama game. He didn't have a catch against Arkansas, had two against Kentucky, was held out of the games against ULM and South Carolina due to an injury that was more serious than initially thought, and was out again against Ole Miss after only two catches combined in the losses to Mississippi State and Auburn.
"It was health issues holding me back, but I overcame that and I'm fully healthy now," he said after the LSU game.
His return to top form didn't come until the final seconds of regulation against the Tigers, when he caught his first pass of the night, a 22-yarder that put the Aggies in position for Quartney Davis' 19-yard touchdown to send the game into overtime. Then, Rogers took over.
In the third overtime, with the Aggies down 49-41 and needing a touchdown and 2-point conversion to tie, a scrambling Mond threw up an arcing pass towards the end zone that Rogers was able to tip while LSU corner Terrence Alexander was trying to pull him down, then made the catch lying flat on his back.
"I saw Kellen scrambling around, so I went to the back of the end zone. I saw the ball and stuck my hand up, hoping I would catch the ball," he said.
The catch astounded many people watching, including Mond.
"I didn't know he'd caught it until right before we were going for two, to be honest," he said. "It was a scramble play and I just threw it up, trying to give him a chance. I knew there was pass interference because of how he was being held, but I didn't know he'd caught it."
Mond immediately came back to Rogers for the 2-point try, which was good, and was followed by Rogers shrugging, similar to Michael Jordan in the midst of his epic scoring run during Game 2 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Rogers' next catch, while not quite as acrobatic, was massive: a leaping touchdown reception on 4th and goal, which allowed the Aggies to tie the game at 58.
"That’s what Kendrick can do. That size and length made a difference," coach Jimbo Fisher said.
Rogers' final two catches didn't end up in the stat column, but showed up on the scoreboard. After another leaping 2-point catch, Mond found Rogers one final time -- for the game winning conversion after another Davis touchdown reception.
"Once coach Fisher called the play, I knew it was coming to Jace or me, and when I saw Jace was covered, I knew it was coming," he said.
Within seconds, Rogers -- who had fought through cramps during the overtime -- was being mobbed by his teammates and fans pouring out of the stands. He said afterward that there was no way he was going to let any physical issues keep him off the field as the game kept going.
"These are moments you live for," he said. "Bigtime players come out in bigtime games."
And then he shrugged again.