Rodgers to Sign With Nebraska

Terry Rodgers, The Times’ Back of the Year and the leading scorer in the county last season, said Wednesday that he will sign a national letter of intent today to play his college football at the University of Nebraska.

Rodgers, who scored 32 touchdowns in leading the Red Devils to the San Diego Section 3-A semifinals, will follow in the footsteps of his father, Johnny Rodgers, who played at Nebraska in the 1970s, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1972.

Rodgers gained 1,491 yards last season and became San Diego County’s all-time leading rusher with 3,764 yards. He went one week past the initial date for signing national letters of intent before narrowing his choices to Nebraska, USC and Texas over the weekend.

“I’ve decided to sign with Nebraska for a number of reasons,” Rodgers told the Associated Press. “Everything I’ve seen there is good. Their weight program, the success rate of their running backs . . . even the food program is good.”

Sweetwater Coach Gene Alim said Rodgers would hold a news conference at the school today to announce his decision.

In other signing news Wednesday, Chula Vista wide receiver Robert Gambala signed a national letter of intent to play at Northern Iowa. Gambala started all 10 games last season for a Spartan team that qualified for the Section 3-A playoffs.