Oak Park OL Justin Rogers visits Tennessee; still has UM, MSU in the mix

Oak Park offensive lineman Justin Rogers is having a busy spring, taking multiple trips so he can narrow down his list of college possibilities prior to his senior season.

Rogers, rated as the No. 1 guard in the country for 2020, took a trip to Tennessee on April 13 to watch the Volunteers’ spring game. He plans to take an official visit to Kentucky this weekend.

Rogers, 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, earned a spot on The News' Dream Team last year, playing as a two-way starter and dominating from the linebacker spot, getting in on 22 tackles for loss, including seven sacks. He forced four fumbles to help Oak Park win the OAA White Division championship.

When asked if he has narrowed down his field to five schools, Rogers replied, “No, I have to make one up.”

Then, when asked who his top teams are, he replied: “Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Clemson, but Michigan and Michigan State are both there, too. Ohio State is right up there, too.”

Rogers was asked if he had talked to Michigan’s new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.

“Yes, I had a chance to speak with him (Gattis) and he’s a great guy, down to earth,” Rogers said. “I love Michigan’s tradition.”

Rogers said he plans to talk with his mother to set up future official visits. He said he is in no hurry to make his decision, possibly making it before the season, but possibly waiting until his senior year is finished.

Rogers is being looked at as an offensive lineman by college coaches, but is linebacker also in his plans?

“Some (coaches) have said I could play linebacker, but they said I’d have to slim down,” Rogers said. “I liked playing linebacker, you could get a good hit on those receivers when they run over the middle.”

More offers from Dearborn’s Saad

Dearborn defensive lineman Ali Saad was under the radar until this past February when he received his first offer and then a half-dozen more, with the majority coming from Mid-American Conference schools.

Saad also was offered by Northwestern last week and now has three Big Ten offers, with Indiana and Rutgers joining Northwestern.

Dearborn coach John Powell said coaches from Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are coming to the school later this month to take a look at him.

Saad, 6-3 and 250 pounds, had more than 40 tackles, including nine sacks to help Dearborn make a playoff appearance last season.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com