Newberry’s Shea Rodgers named to preseason award watch list

NEWBERRY – Shea Rodgers is one of 34 placekickers named to the Fred Mitchell Award Preseason Watch List, honoring small-college student-athletes for their commitment to community service and excellence on the field.

Rodgers is one of only 11 Division II kickers honored with a spot on the watch list and is the lone representative from the South Atlantic Conference. Student-athletes from Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Division III, and NAIA institutions comprised the remainder of the list.

Rodgers was 8-for-11 on field goal attempts and made 33 of his 34 PAT attempts in 2017. His 49-yard field goal at Catawba Nov. 4 was Newberry’s longest field goal since at least the 1997 season when computerized records began despite being considered the Wolves’ specialist on shorter field goal attempts from 40 yards and in.

He finished second in the team in scoring with 57 points a season ago and garnered the first SAC Special Teams Player of the Week award of his career by going 4-for-4 on PAT attempts and averaging 38.6 yards per punt in a win at Lenoir-Rhyne. In his career he is 13-for-16 on field goal attempts, the ninth most made field goals in school history, while ranking fifth with 75 PAT’s made.

Rodgers helps to train the kickers and punters at his alma mater, Indian Land High School, during the summers. He also helps with a local elementary school field day in his hometown, assists with taking care of the grounds at Osceola United Methodist Church, and helps the elderly in his community with their yard work.

The Fred Mitchell Award will release a list of top performers each month throughout the season, with the winner announced in mid-December and honored at February’s National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony.