The month of January has been none too kind to Vanderbilt. Head coach James Franklin left to accept a job offer from Penn State and he took the bulk of his coaching staff with him as well as a few verbal commitments for the Class of 2014. The Commodores are struggling to put together a recruiting class for 2014, which is now the responsibility of new head coach Derek Mason, and the anxiety level of those supporting the program has reached levels perhaps never before seen. That includes former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers, who took to Twitter to blow some steam on Tuesday.
“It’s a shame but Vanderbilt will continue to be a stepping stone for coaches, a second rate program in the SEC and stuck in mediocrity [because] of how the institution views athletics and treats their current and former players, “ Rodgers explained in the first of a lengthy strong of Twitter updates that have since been deleted.
“As a leader and starting [quarterback] during the emergence and transformation of Vanderbilt into a contending and respectable program in the SEC I am ashamed at the treatment of some former players,” Rodgers continued.
Rodgers took exception to having to pay to use football facilities at Vanderbilt when returning to train alongside Vanderbilt football players despite being an alum and a part of the program during a stretch of time that helped pave the way for facility upgrades.
“WE built that indoor [football facility] by winning like no team in the history of VU,” Rodgers said. “Now I have to pay to use it?! Pay to help mentor and train with current players and alum trying to stick with a team in the NFL. WE built this program not some chancellor. This is an embarrassment and only a reflection of the future of this program if it continues to put football and the success and treatment of its pliers as an after thought.”
Rodgers reassured his followers he still has love for his former school and that he was merely expressing some concerns about how he feels alums of the football program have been treated and received. You can read the full Twitter stream of consciousness from Rodgers via Lost Lettermen.