Tee Time: Rodgers Thankful for Time at Home

Clemson WR Amari Rodgers was a beneficiary of an extended summer break, trained with legendary Tennessee quarterback and current associate head coach Tee Martin.

If anyone on Clemson's roster knows about overcoming obstacles and making the most out of an unfavorable situation, it's Amari Rodgers. 

The senior wide receiver overcame a devastating ACL tear last spring only to make a full recovery and have a coming-out party at the expense of Syracuse 173 days later.  

Rodgers once again turned a negative into a positive during his extended summer break and was able to get some quality time and coaching advice from his old man. 

For most players, that wouldn't be much of a story. However, it's a bonus when your dad is Tee Martin — a national-championship winning quarterback and the associate head coach/receivers coach for the Tennessee Volunteers. 

"It was great. It is always nice to get advice from my pops. He's been in the business a long time," Rodgers said. "He's coached a lot of great players so whenever he has something to say to me, I'm listening and I'm all ears." 

As a player, Martin guided the Volunteers to a pair of SEC Championships in 1997 and 1998 and brought the 1998 National Championship to Rocky Top. As a Division I football coach, he's spent time with New Mexico, Kentucky and USC. In January of 2019, he joined Jeremy Pruitt's staff at Tennessee. 

Rodgers said it's a blessing to have a well-seasoned coached back at home willing and able to work with him to sharpen his skills as he continues gaining his strength back from the ACL injury last spring. 

"He knows what he's talking about and it's just a blessing that he is my father. I can just go to him whenever I need and it's definitely helped with my progress as far as where I am now," he said.  

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