Rogered: Tennessee WR Da’Rick Rogers suspended indefinitely

Huge news in Tennessee: Standout wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers has been suspended indefinitely by coach Derek Dooley for an unspecified violation of team rules, according to ESPN.

It is not known what he did to gain such a suspension, although Bruce Feldman, college football reporter at CBS was told that it was a string of troubling incidents that prompted the staff to make the move.

In one tweet he said: “After what I’d been told by sources inside Vols program last yr, was surprised Dooley allowed Da’Rick Rogers to stay w team.” He added: “In 2011 Da’Rick Rogers had a series of incidents, incldg a complete meltdown at UK gm that sources say COMPLETELY crossed line w UT staff.” And in a final note he said: “Da’Rick Rogers incidents in past yr were so troubling to staffers they felt Dooley was risking tm dynamic by allowing him to remain w UT.”

Last year Rogers was exceptional for the 5-7 Volunteers, grabbing 1,040 yards receiving and 9 TDs for an offense that really didn’t do that much otherwise.

UT linebacker Herman Lathers told Tennessee 24-7 blogger Wes Rusker: “No one is bigger than our team. We’ll be fine. This doesn’t bother us at all.”

Rucker also reported that Dooley told reporters that he doesn’t expect Rogers back this year. “Our expectation is he’s not (going to play this season),“ he told reporters. “Certainly there’s a process that we always respect, but our expectation is he’s not.” He also seemed to indicate that it was unlikely that Rogers would be able to get back on the team. “I think that the assumption is he’s not with us, and it’s very unlikely he will be.”

BOTTOM LINE: This is a huge, huge miss for UT, who’s going to lose one of the SEC – and maybe the country’s – premier receivers. This puts HUGE pressure on not only newly-back-from-injury Justin Hunter but also the team’s running game – as well as QB Tyler Bray. But you’ve got to applaud Coach Dooley for standing by his guns – even though it may even cost him his job.