The bone spur in Jim Rodgers’ right ankle had swelled to the point where he needed a hard cast and two crutches to get around. Not exactly the kind of start to his University of Washington football career he envisioned when he arrived on campus in the summer of 1980.
The reaction he got from Don James was not exactly what he was expecting either.
A quick step back: Rodgers, a high school All-American safety from Aloha, Ore., injured his ankle during the first couple weeks of UW’s training camp that August, and he was frustrated. And because he was in a cast he decided to skip out on a Sunday treatment session for injured players.