New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has had a legendary career since he entered the NFL in 2005. He is a four-time MVP, 10-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl XLV champion, and Super Bowl MVP. While he is a household name today, that wasn’t always the case. Let’s revisit Rodgers’ college career and journey to the league.
Where Did Aaron Rodgers Go to College?
On Dec. 2, 1983, Rodgers was born in Chico, Calif. After briefly living in Beaverton, Ore., he moved back to his hometown and attended Pleasant Valley High School.
Rodgers started at quarterback for two years, throwing for 4,421 yards. In fact, he set the school record for total yards (2,466) in 2001. However, he was only 5’10” and 165 pounds, so he didn’t get much interest from Division I colleges. He wanted to play under Bobby Bowden at Florida State, but the Seminoles rejected him.
He received only one offer: to walk on at the University of Illinois. Rodgers declined and even considered switching from football to baseball. However, he ultimately decided to go the junior college route, accepting an offer to play at Butte College in Oroville, which is about 15 miles away from where he went to high school in Chico.
In his first JUCO season in 2002, Rodgers threw for 26 touchdowns and led the school to a 10-1 record, the Northern California Football Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking.
After just one year, Rodgers entered the transfer portal and transferred to the University of California with three years of eligibility left.
After just five games, Rodgers was named the team’s starting quarterback and even beat Illinois, the only DI team that had given him an offer of any kind. He led the 2003 Golden Bears to a 7-3 record as the starter and threw for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
As a junior in 2004, Rodgers led the team to a 10-1 record and a top-five ranking by the end of the regular season. The Golden Bears’ lone loss came against No. 1 USC.
Rodgers threw for 2,566 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Additionally, he led the Pac-10 in yards per attempt with 8.1.
Aaron Rodgers was dropping dimes at Cal before cashing record-breaking checks in the NFL . pic.twitter.com/z1DVxO2vgh
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB)
While he had another year of college eligibility remaining, Rodgers opted to enter the 2005 NFL Draft following his junior season. He finished his DI college career with 5,469 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
On draft night, Rodgers was projected to be a top pick. Throughout the pre-draft process, many analysts even thought that he could go No. 1 to the San Francisco 49ers, who ended up selecting Utah QB Alex Smith instead.
Rodgers slipped to the end of the first round, which became a major storyline of the draft. The broadcast kept showing Rodgers as he waited to hear his name called. The Green Bay Packers ultimately took him at No. 24 overall.
The rest is history, and it’s safe to say things worked out well for Rodgers.