Nick Sirianni dialed up pressure, but Roger Rosengarten was ready.
He came prepared, even if he didn’t quite know it.
Rosengarten, the Highlands Ranch native and 2024 NFL Draft prospect, had arrived at the NFL combine in Indianapolis not long before.
He knew it would be a grueling week. He knew he’d meet with a ton of teams who wanted to figure out how his career at the University of Washington had prepared him for life in the NFL.
But it’s hard to know exactly how teams are going to sweat you in each 15-minute formal interview.
Rosengarten’s first meeting was with Philadelphia. He walked into the Lucas Oil Stadium suite, Sirianni tossed him a mini basketball and pointed to a hoop.
Three shots. Let’s go.
“It’s kind of quirky, but Coach Sirianni loves hoops and he’s got a hoop in the team meeting room,” Rosengarten told The Post recently. “… So that’s kind of the way they get you on your heels and put the pressure on you.”
Two makes, one miss and a squat test later, Rosengarten was off and running on the next phase of his football journey with a sense of comfort.
He’s a natural hooper, after all.
Roger Rosengarten holds a Final Four plaque after Valor Christian defeated George Washington in the Class 5A Great 8 on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Denver Coliseum.
Rosengarten showed his game at Valor Christian before he became a four-star football prospect. Before he became Michael Penix Jr.’s blindside protector on a Huskies team that stormed to a 25-3 mark the past two years. Before he became a hot name among NFL teams, Colorado’s top local prospect this spring and seemingly a sure bet to hear his name called during Friday night’s second and third rounds, at the latest.
Whether the Eagles brass knew about Rosengarten’s history on the hardwood is beside the point. They could have tested him another way. Start on one side of the line and flip. Translate terminology. Get to know a new coach. Handle expectations. Whatever.
Rosengarten’s past six years have prepared him for this moment.
Valor to Seattle
The fourth-quarter run is preserved in newspaper print and on YouTube.
Rosengarten, a senior at Valor Christian, picks a George Washington pocket for a layup. Then knocks down a 3-pointer.
The Eagles stave off the Patriots for an Elite Eight win on the strength of big No. 44 scoring eight of his 16 in the final period.
Ticket to the Denver Coliseum and the Final Four: punched.
“Shoot, that was one to remember,” Rosengarten said. “All of us wanted to go play in the Denver Coliseum and we thought that was the coolest thing.”
Only problem? It’s March 8, 2020. The finals never actually happen as the country lurches to a stop at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, Rosengarten’s class became the first to make the transition from high school to college amid the pandemic’s disruption.
Rosengarten worked out in the concourse of Husky Stadium when he got to Seattle.
“Couldn’t shower, couldn’t use the locker room, so I was working out on the concourse next to the vendor setups,” he said. “You name it, A, B and C, we went through it right when we got up there as freshmen.”
Even under much more normal circumstances, the transition would have been strange. He, receivers Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan and the rest of the 2020 class had been recruited by Chris Petersen, but Petersen stepped down after the 2019 season and Jimmy Lake took over. Then Lake got fired after 2021 and in stepped Kalen DeBoer.
“It was different, but it ended up working out in our favor,” Rosengarten said.
Did it ever.
UW took off under DeBoer, who came from Fresno State and persuaded his former University of Indiana pupil, quarterback Michael Penix Jr., to join him in Seattle. When that pairing got to town, Rosengarten had played in just five games — a fake punt against Arizona in 2020 and four appearances during the 2021 season.
His offensive line coach Scott Huff, perhaps the one constant besides several of his teammates in Seattle, asked Rosengarten if he’d switch to right tackle to protect Penix’s blind side.
“I took that responsibility with a chip on my shoulder,” Rosengarten said.
He already had building blocks in place.
Sunday potential
Rosengarten didn’t start playing offensive line until his junior year of high school, when Ed McCaffrey took over as Valor’s head coach.
Almost immediately, though, McCaffrey’s loaded coaching staff noticed the nimble big man making the transition from tight end to tackle.
“Within the first week of working with him, this is no joke, I literally pulled him aside after a practice,” former eight-year NFL offensive tackle and Valor assistant Tyler Polumbus told The Post. “I said, ‘Dude, you’re going to hate me, but I’m going to push you beyond what you’ve ever known because I truly believe you’re going to be playing on Sundays one day.’
“I don’t take credit for anything. He walked in with that type of talent and it was just obvious from the get-go that this dude is just different.”
Valor Christian High School defensive lineman Roger Rosengarten (73) puts his helmet on after intercepting a pass during the second half of the Class 5A football state championship Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Valor Christian won 24-14.
Polumbus may not take credit, but Rosengarten readily offers it up for him and for fellow former NFL offensive lineman Ben Hamilton.
“I give majority credit to those guys and coach McCaffrey,” he said. “He assembled a juggernaut staff and I had two really good offensive line coaches. … I loved the way they coached me. They didn’t sugarcoat anything.
“Tyler’s the one that kind of laid the foundation of the tackle sets, being out in space and anything from A to Z for playing tackle.”
Polumbus said he considered not putting such expectations in Rosengarten’s mind all those years ago. Some kids maybe wouldn’t know how to handle it. But he knew he had the right student. He also taught Rosengarten some advanced moves, including a personal favorite the pair called “Harry Swayne” after the former Broncos tackle. It’s a high-risk, high-reward move that either stops a rusher in his tracks or gets you beat. Badly.
“Very few guys actually utilize it,” said Polumbus, who deployed it in the pros to protect against bull rushes. “That maneuver doesn’t make him a great tackle, but what it shows is he’s a guy who’s willing to be coached and use whatever weapons he’s got in his arsenal.”
Roger Rosengarten and I breaking down the intricacies of his signature ‘change-up’ pass set that I often refer to as a 3-step short or as the UW OL called it, the 44 special. pic.twitter.com/tadTo1lMKt
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) March 29, 2024
Polumbus took his son to Seattle to see Rosengarten play last fall, and the two keep in regular contact as the draft approaches.
“I’m not surprised at all to see the success he had,” Polumbus said. “He had one bad game last year and it just so happened to be the national championship game. But I mean, seriously, outside of that, he had a nearly flawless season. Seriously, nearly flawless.”
Next chapter
Rosengarten has ripped through the pre-draft process in impressive fashion.
He’s visited several NFL teams, including the Broncos, Philadelphia and Washington during the Commanders’ mid-April bonanza featuring several top prospects.
He ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any offensive lineman at the Combine, rolling down the turf in 4.92 seconds.
You’ll find mock drafts that place him as high as the back of the first round — ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. recently slotted him at No. 31 to San Francisco — and almost nobody who thinks he’ll have to sweat out Saturday’s Rounds 4-7.
“He’s ready to come in and play right away,” ESPN analyst Matt Miller told The Post, noting some teams may prefer Rosengarten at guard instead of right tackle. “The dude had almost 2,000 snaps in college. He’s super experienced. …
“I think he’s going to be a really good player.”
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Rosengarten played only right tackle the past two years at UW, but if the past six years have shown anything, it’s that beyond positional versatility, Rosengarten’s equipped to handle what comes his way.
Sometime Friday night, he’ll arrive at the next door, though just like in Indianapolis, he’s not quite sure what’s waiting on the other side. He just knows it will be a wild ride.
“Dream come true,” he said. “I’ve wanted to play in the NFL since I was a little kid and to be in this spot and the position I’m in right now with the draft coming up, it’s going to be crazy. It’s going to be crazy.
“I haven’t thought about how I’m going to react. … When the time comes, it’s going to be exciting.”
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Local 2024 NFL Draft prospects
Player
Position
College
Hometown (School)
Draft range
The Skinny
Roger Rosengarten
OT
Washington
Highlands Ranch (Valor Christian)
Round 2-3
Versatile and experienced, Rosengarten should hear his name called Friday and could sneak into the first.
Mohamed Kamara
OLB
Colorado State
Newark, N.J. (Central)
Round 2-3
Undersized but has done nothing other than produce and could well be selected in the top 100 picks.
Luke McCaffrey
WR
Rice
Highlands Ranch (Valor Christian)
Round 4-5
The youngest in Colorado’s foremost football family is just scratching the surface of what he can be as a WR.
Dallin Holker
TE
Colorado State
Lehi, Utah (Lehi)
Round 5-6
A big 2023 season set the stage for the second-team All-American to hear his name called this week.
Chau Smith-Wade
CB
Washington State
Denver (Chicago Simeon)
Round 5-6
A Denver kid who finished high school in Chicago and showed out through the pre-draft process.
Frank Crum
OL
Wyoming
Laramie, Wyo. (Laramie)
Round 5-6
Shades of Quinn Meinerz for the Laramie native with the big hair, big personality and quality game.
Drake Nugent
OL
Michigan
Lone Tree (Highlands Ranch)
Round 6-7
From Lone Tree to a national title in 2023, Nugent is one of several quality OLs the state has produced.
Xavier Weaver
WR
Colorado
Orlando, Fla. (Christian Prep)
Round 6-7
CU’s best draft prospect is part of a loaded crop of receivers, but did enough to hear his name called Saturday.
Chigozie Anusiem
CB
Colorado State
La Habra, Calif. (Sonora)
Round 6-7
Tall, rangy corner will be a project, but big, fast guys are the types NFL teams will roll the dice on.
Trey Taylor
S
Air Force
Frisco, Texas (Lone Star)
Round 7/CFA
Jim Thorpe Award winner had big production and could be a late-round find.
Easton Gibbs
ILB
Wyoming
Temecula, Calif. (Valley)
Round 7/CFA
A pre-draft visitor to the Broncos with huge production (230 tackles) the past two years in Laramie.