Built to Block: How Roger Rosengarten Earned a Starting Spot

If you were to build the ideal offensive lineman in the modern age of football Roger Rosengarten would be what emerged. 

At 6-foot-6 and 303-pounds the former four-star recruit arrived at the University of Washington as the highest ranked offensive line prospect to sign with the program in over a decade and for good reason. Rosengarten, who signed with the Huskies as part of an elite 2020 recruiting class out of Valor Christian High School in Littleton, Colorado, has all the natural talent to be a premier tackle. 

However, about a week into fall camp, UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff made it clear to Rosengarten if he didn’t hone in some of the sloppy play he wouldn’t be on the field. At that time it was evident that the redshirt freshman was set to unseat two-year veteran starter Victor Curne at right tackle in 2022. 

“Roger, I think, is one of the more athletic kids we have up front. Athleticism and aggressiveness are two of Roger’s better attributes,” Grubb said. “I really thought early in camp I thought he had a long way to go. Just almost would play irresponsibly at times with his technique and out of control. I remember having a conversation with him early in camp and coach Huff, if wasn’t able to get that reeled in there would be no reason for him be out there.”

All his football life Rosengarten has been the guy whenever he’s been in an offensive line room. The combination of size, natural athleticism and ability made him one of the more coveted recruits in the 2020 class. With that ability comes a learning curve, something he learned from one of his high school coaches, eight-year NFL veteran lineman Tyler Polumbus. 

When a player has such natural talent at a young age, teaching the lesson that it’s not going to be this easy as you progress in your career is a delicate, but important one to cover. Having a coach in high school with the experience that Polumbus had gave Rosengarten a leg up, and in a way it specifically helped him handle the conversation he had with the coaches in August. 

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“I’ll never forget one day after practice having a conversation with him. We had a little disagreement on how he had approached one pass protection. We went back and forth a little bit. To the point where it ended with me making him run,” Polumbus said. 

“And I made him run a lot because he just couldn’t quite grasp what I was telling him and we weren’t on the same page, and it was frustrating because he couldn’t see what I was trying to see. That day was amazing. He ran. He ran hard. He was kind of proving a point to me almost. Like, okay, you can run me but I’m going to run harder than you asked me to do it.”

Once Rosengarten finished his run the two went to the film room. That moment shaped the young lineman into the starter he now is. 

“He took that challenge from me where I made him run, and I made him run hard,” Polumbus said. “And he almost made me feel like I man didn’t make him run hard enough. And then that’s who he was moving forward. He was going to work harder than anybody. He was going to listen. He was going to grind it out.”

Fast forward almost four years; he outworked the linemen in front of him, he listened to Grubb and Huff, and as a result he won out. 

Even before Rosengarten was named as the starting right tackle officially this past Monday, and prior to Michael Penix Jr. being named as the starter at quarterback, he was earning the respect with his play on the field from both his coaches and peers.

“Roger, he’s a great guy. Great character. Great personality all around,” Penix Jr. said on August 12, about halfway through fall camp. “He’s a guy that comes out here and works  extremely hard. When we were doing winter conditioning, summer conditioning, he was always one of the o-line that’s always pushing that group. Always trying to be first in that group. I feel like he works extremely hard. He’s out there getting a lot of 1’s reps right now and I’m proud of him. He’s really taken that on and really taken that serious. 

“He’s definitely been pushing himself. Always asking questions trying to make himself the best player he can. I have full trust in Roger. I have full trust in that whole o-line.”