For most of his teenage and adult life, Jordan Rodgers has been enveloped in a shadow twice his size.
Older brother Aaron’s path to stardom was equal parts unconventional and unlikely. Before he was arguably the NFL’s best quarterback, the future Super Bowl MVP spent time at community college, in the green room at the NFL Draft and on the Packers’ bench.
Along the way, the little brother was but a footnote, another up-and-coming young quarterback who might not make it to Division I play, let alone draft day.
Three Saturdays ago, Jordan emerged from Aaron’s shadow. The younger Rodgers had forged a similar path: starting as the quarterback for Butte College in Oroville, Calif., before transferring to a Division I school in an elite conference. Now, he’s taking the next step and has seized the starting job from a long-time incumbent.
Larry Smith has been Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback for the better part of the last three seasons, and it hasn’t been pretty. Once a top recruit, Smith has thrown just 13 touchdown passes to 19 interceptions in his last 570 attempts. And while he’s contributed eight rushing touchdowns, Smith has never averaged more than 2.5 yards per carry in a season. This season, Smith has carried the ball 34 times for negative 18 yards.
The Smith-led Commodores have been afflicted by inconsistent quarterback play and, ultimately, losses. With just four wins in Smith’s first two seasons at the helm, Vanderbilt was hoping that the redshirt senior would help his team make a massive step in the 2011-12 season.
The program has taken that step, but Smith never did. As their field general continued to show an inability to pass downfield, the Commodores were forced to rely heavily on draws, bubble screens and, at times, their defense to score points. It was almost as if the Vanderbilt coaching staff had one goal: to take the ball out of Smith’s hands and put in the more reliable — and certainly more explosive — possession of its skill position players. Junior running back Zac Stacy and freshman running back Jerron Seymour shouldered the load as best they could. But the Vanderbilt offense continued to sputter. Relying almost entirely on yards after the catch, Vanderbilt struggled to move the ball downfield with any consistency.
An imperfect solution, but one nonetheless, Rodgers has opened up the Vanderbilt playbook in a way Smith never could. Throwing the ball downfield is now a viable option. Rodgers has so far exhibited an accuracy and arm strength better than Smith’s, evidenced by his 43-yard touchdown throw to Chris Boyd against Army that would have made Aaron proud.
As usual, the stats don’t tell the whole story. Rodgers has thrown two touchdowns and five interceptions and is completing just 43.6 percent of his passes. He’s still a long way from Radio City, let alone from winning what will likely be a competitive quarterback battle next spring.
But for now, the job is Jordan’s. Faster, more athletic and with better decision-making skills than Smith, the little brother has finally given Vanderbilt a playmaker at the quarterback position.
