UW Football
Ex-Husky appearing on 'American Idol'

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter

	Matt Rogers
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It surprised absolutely no one in the Washington football office when they heard that former Huskies offensive lineman Matt Rogers was appearing on "American Idol."

"He's the complete and total entertainer," said UW offensive-line coach Brent Myers, who coached Rogers on the 2000 team that went 11-1 and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl. "He was that way from the moment he got here."

The rest of the nation is now finding that out.

Rogers sang a rendition of the James Ingram ballad "Just Once" last week well enough to advance out of a pack of roughly 50,000 who auditioned, becoming one of 117 to advance to this week's "Going to Hollywood" round.

Before performing, Rogers proudly displayed his UW Rose Bowl ring to the show's judges, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Rogers is expected to appear on either tonight's or tomorrow night's episodes when the semifinalists will be pared down to 32 finalists who will compete to be the next American Idol. Tonight's show will air at 8 p.m. and tomorrow night's at 8:30 p.m., both on Channel 13.

Rogers, who wasn't allowed to be interviewed because of a confidentiality agreement, still keeps in touch with some UW coaches and staffers. He had called Myers and others to tell them he would be on the show last week.

A native of Arcadia, Calif., Rogers played only one season at UW after transferring from Iowa, where he had played in 1998. After sitting out the 1999 season, he was a backup guard on the 2000 team. Although he never started, he played a key role as one of two reserves who saw regular playing time up front.

He was named a coaches' MVP after UW's win over UCLA and also saw significant time in the Apple Cup win over WSU that clinched the Pac-10 title and in the Rose Bowl.

"He was an integral part of our group," Myers said. "The fun part of our group."

Myers said that when the freshmen held their skit night during training camp that year — an annual rite of two-a-days — Rogers "was involved in every single skit. Every freshman had him in the skit because he was so much fun. He could imitate everybody, all the coaches and all the players."

Myers said Rogers recently left him a message pretending to be former teammate Elliott Zajac. Myers said he thought it was Zajac until Rogers started laughing at the end of the message.

Rogers works in southern California as a mortgage broker, Myers said. But Rogers isn't a complete stranger to TV, as he and other members of his family appeared on "Family Feud" several years ago.

"He's just one of those guys who's going to try to do everything he can to have fun," Myers said.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com.

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