Garrett Rogan made an impact right out of the gate this season.
In his first game starting for the Villanova University football squad, the former Mercer Island High School (MIHS) student-athlete registered some solid plays from his strong safety position in his team’s triumph.
The Wildcat senior notched four total tackles and batted down a pass during his crew’s 24-17 victory over Colgate University in NCAA Division I action on Sept. 6 at its home stadium in Pennsylvania.
For Rogan’s stellar effort, head coach Mark Ferrante named the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder a team co-most valuable player on defense for the Cats’ season opener. Rogan shared the honors with redshirt freshman defensive back Anthony Hawkins.
“We played really good defensively from the start and it was fun just flying around and making plays,” said Rogan, 21, a senior in the classroom and redshirt junior on the field. “I had a tackle on the first drive, which calmed my nerves down. Then I felt fast and physical.”
Rogan said he’s always dreamt of playing DI college football as it runs in the family. His dad, grandfather and a couple of his uncles all roamed the gridiron in the college realm.
“It was always in my blood. And I was just raised playing football, always surrounded by it at a young age,” said Rogan, whose brother played quarterback at MIHS.
While making his official visit to Villanova, Rogan saw that the school provided him a good opportunity in the athletic and academic spheres, said the computer science major.
In week two this season, Villanova traveled to No. 2 Penn State University to face the Nittany Lions in front of a mammoth crowd of 109,000. Rogan said he was both excited and nervous for that Sept. 13 game, which ended 52-6 in the Nittany Lions’ favor at Beaver Stadium in University Park.
“It was cool playing in that atmosphere and against that level of talent,” said Rogan, who had a tackle on the third play of the game. “It was sort of like a once-in-a-lifetime game.”
Rogan said he’s overcome a lot of adversity over the years to get where he’s at today. The Wildcat noted that he was a late bloomer on the growing front — arriving at Villanova as a 6-1, 170-pounder — and he put in heaps of hard work to become a starter.
When asked about what advice he’d give a young football player about what it takes to achieve their dreams, he said: “I would say to outwork everyone and be confident in yourself and have higher expectations of yourself than anybody else does and be patient as well. Be patient but also want it more than everybody else.”
Regarding playing ball at MIHS and moving onward to the college scene, Rogan credited Islanders defensive coordinator Gary Shavey for instilling the love of playing defense in him.
“Every single player, all 11, play a part in each play that’s made and we all sort of have to be in sync and gang tackle and run to the ball and whatnot,” he said.
Paul Rogan chipped in some words about his son’s football journey: “His hard work and dedication has always been top level. There was never a doubt on his ability, he just needed the opportunity to go out and prove himself.”
Added David Riede, Villanova’s assistant coach who’s focused on safeties: “Garrett has done a great job for us this fall. We lost five players in the defensive secondary to graduation from the 2024 team. He has taken advantage of his opportunities and proven to the coaching staff and his teammates that he can make plays. We are looking forward to great things from him this season.”
