Rodgers brothers power Oregon State to bowl game

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 21, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

James Rodgers could have lived out most young men's dreams Saturday night.

It was Rodgers' 21st birthday and he was in Las Vegas with a room at the Venetian. The possibilities were endless.

But Rodgers, a junior receiver at Oregon State, said Saturday afternoon he had no grandiose plans.

"I won't celebrate at all," Rodgers said. "It's a business trip, so I've got to handle business first."

Even if Rodgers had the temptation to get distracted before Oregon State's game against BYU on Tuesday in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, he knows his brother, sophomore running back Jacquizz Rodgers, would never allow it.

That's the kind of relationship James and Jacquizz, two of Oregon State's best players, have. The brothers are always keeping each other focused — especially on the football field.

"He always tells me, sometimes if I drop the ball, 'You've got to catch that one,'" James said. "Or if I don't finish off my pass after the catch, 'You've got to get up field and get extra yardage.' It's just good things that he does to keep me going."

Oregon State coach Mike Riley, who has coached at least 10 sets of brothers in his career, said he had never been around two players as determined as the Rodgers.

It's not just Jacquizz pushing James, either. Riley's favorite memory of coaching the Rodgers brothers was the other way around.

Riley said it occurred last year in Oregon State's game at UCLA. The Beavers ran three consecutive plays at the goal line and didn't score with James on the sidelines and Jacquizz in the game.

When Jacquizz came off the field, Riley spotted James chastising him for not trying hard enough to get into the end zone.

"I just thought to myself, no one in the world would say that because both of them work and try like crazy," Riley said. "But James saw something there where he had to go and say that to 'Quizz."

Their motivational tactics have worked to perfection this season. Jacquizz leads the Beavers in rushing with 255 carries for 1,377 yards and 20 touchdowns.

James is Oregon State's leading receiver with 87 catches for 1,004 yards and nine touchdowns.

"They impact our team in a lot of ways," Riley said. "They've been so productive."

Sure enough, James and Jacquizz were the last two Oregon State players off of the field Sunday after the team's practice at UNLV's Rebel Park.

They stayed after for a few minutes to work on their receiving by playing catch with each other. It quickly turned into a competition of who could catch more passes in a row.

Competition between the two is nothing new, either.

"It goes from video games to out here who can catch better to who can throw better," James said. "There's a lot of competition going on between me and 'Quizz."

Last year, both James and Jacquizz missed Oregon State's appearance in the Brut Sun Bowl, which it went on to win 3-0 against Pittsburgh, with injuries. Riley said he liked where his team was better this year entering the postseason because the Rodgers brothers were healthy.

James and Jacquizz are looking forward to sharing the bowl experience together.

"You can always make friends, but there's no one like your brother being here by your side going to war with you on the football field," James said. "It's a very good experience."