Sometimes, it’s good to give things a shot.
Isaiah Rodriguez of Saugus Middle High School wasn’t up to much during a summer day heading into his junior year.
“My friend called me and asked me to pull up to a 7v7 football tournament (at Bishop Fenwick),” Rodriguez said. “I had nothing better to do, so I pulled up.”
And, from there, he “caught on pretty quickly.”
So quickly, that in his first year of high school football, the explosive wide receiver had 43 receptions for 900 yards and seven touchdowns.
A year later as a senior, No. 11 added 600 more receiving yards, six more touchdowns, and another 200 yards in the return game – on top of his duties as a defensive back.
“He was a big factor defensively, usually covering the other team’s top receiver,” said head coach Steve Cummings.
Add all that up, and earlier this week, Rodriguez committed to the University of Rochester in New York to study and play football.
“Around last April, coach (Adam) Griggs reached out to me. He was saying that he thought my film was great. This was the first college I had ever really talked to,” Rodriguez said.
In fact, Rodriguez almost missed the call from Rochester while at basketball practice later that year.
“I wasn’t going to answer at first. It was a random number, but it could be an opportunity, so I answered,” he said. “Then, I went up for a visit… A couple weeks later, he came down to the (Saugus High) school during lunchtime and actually told me I had an offer to join the team.”
When asked about the Liberty League program that went 5-5 last fall, Rodriguez – who will be majoring in accounting – pointed to its academics.
“I would love to play football, obviously, but for me and my family, my mom (Jessica) has always told me school comes first. You’re a student before an athlete,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to go to a school that’s going to put me in a good position [with] good alumni and good connections that will help me succeed for the rest of my life.”
He could’ve gone all day about the college, one that enrolls approximately 7,000 undergraduate students.
“The campus was awesome. They have statues all over – it’s really nice – and the library is maybe the biggest I’ve ever seen,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve got weight racks and everything you’d need – better than a lot of the other schools I’ve visited.”
Those weight racks will be put to good use by the ex-Sachem, who says Rochester is getting “a kid that’s willing to learn [and] coachable.”
“They can definitely put me in a good place, and I feel like I have the natural ability and athleticism to just go out there and do what they want me to do,” said Rodriguez, who plans on sticking at wide receiver.
Saugus went 5-5 last regular season, with Rodriguez learning more than just catching touchdown passes.
“I feel like Saugus taught me a lot about how to lead,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez thanked friend and teammate Tommy DeSimone for pushing him, among other teammates, as well as the rest of the coaching staff at Saugus.
“At Saugus, it was a family bond,” he said.
