It’s evident Merrillville coach Brad Seiss exudes a particular pride in Adonis Rodgers and the senior center’s progress over the years.
“In middle school, he was kind of a screwball, and you probably could say the same thing as a freshman,” Seiss said. “But he’s just kept growing and maturing and becoming a leader and becoming one of the higher-end guys in his class. He really stepped up as a sophomore and went from there.”
Rodgers was voted one of the Pirates’ four captains. The 6-foot, 220-pounder figures to rarely come off the field this season; he’s slated to play defensive end too.
Rodgers has relished being one of the players to whom his teammates look for guidance, along with classmates Justin Marshall, Phillip Roche and Jaylen Thomas.
“You have to be a leader, come to practice every day with a great mindset and push the young people to be like us one day,” Rodgers said. “Come to practice motivated, ready to go, ready to practice with urgency.
“Being a captain, that’s really what I wanted to be. Since I got picked, I’ve really been on my teammates’ butts, really trying to get them motivated so we really can go to Lucas Oil.”
Rodgers played right guard, a position where he also could see time this season, and defensive tackle as a freshman and sophomore, the latter when he earned some varsity snaps.
He shifted to center last season when the Pirates had a need there and quarterback Angel Nelson and running back Lavarion Logan, a pair of then-senior stars, urged the move.
“I was with Lavarion and Angel every day, and they really pushed me to play center,” Rodgers said. “At first, I was really scared — scared to the point the first few games, snaps were going over Angel’s head, right, left.
“The coaches really started pushing me that I had to get it down because they were saying people are really going to get hurt. I got it down after a few games. It came natural after that.”
Seiss pointed out that Rodgers, a self-described “undersized center” who sets “high standards,” is more of a natural defensive player based on his stature.
“He’s probably more of a D-lineman, but because of what we had last year, he knew the best place for him to play was at center,” Seiss said. “He stepped up and was a really consistent center for us pretty much all year. You can’t say anything but good things about somebody who plays out of position a little bit, who’s doing it not only to help themselves, but also to help the team be better too.”
“He’s really explosive,” Seiss added. “He’ll play defense in college because I don’t know if he can put on the size to be an offensive lineman. So he’s been playing defense for us this year. He worked his tail off all offseason with our defensive coaches and our defensive linemen, and truthfully, he’s been our most consistent guy. He’s really smart, and we’re expecting him to be able to contribute on both sides of the ball this year.”
Rodgers is ready for such a responsibility.
“I’m really in motion this year,” he said. “I’m really getting the hang of it.”
Rodgers said he hopes that trip to the state championship game is within the grasp of the Pirates, who made three straight Class 6A semistate appearances and have emerged as the consensus favorites with their move down to 5A.
“Our potential is to make it all the way to Lucas Oil,” he said. “But we have to take it step by step, week by week, and just really lock in.
“We’re competing with each other in practice and really seeing who has the game to play on Friday nights. We just have to go out and play. At the end of the day, football is going to be football.”
Team: Merrillville.
2021 record: 12-1.
Offensive leaders: Justin Marshall, senior, running back; Jeremiah Roberts, senior, wide receiver; Adonis Rodgers, senior, offensive lineman; Jaylen Thomas, senior, quarterback.
Defensive leaders: Terrelle Elmore, junior, defensive lineman; Roshaun McGee, junior, defensive lineman; Fred Retic, senior, defensive back; Phillip Roche, senior, defensive back.
X-factor: Trey Stephens, junior, running back/defensive back.
