NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 97 - Rodger Alberts, Auburn

The 97th player on our list was one of the best players from the greatest team that never was.

Rodger Alberts played for Auburn High School the first two years the school was open. In 1960, unsurprisingly, the Knights went winless as it fielded a team of sophomores and juniors in the Big Eight.

In 1961, the Knights shocked the local sports scene by going 8-0-1 to win the Big Eight. Alberts was a first-team All-Big Eight fullback and would have been first-team at linebacker as well. He scored six touchdowns in seven conference games and was voted the Prep of the Year by the Rockford Morning Star.

Unfortunately, one of players on the team was ruled ineligible and Auburn's entire season was forfeited. Officially, the Knights were 0-9.

Still, the games happened on the field and Wisconsin under Milt Bruhn recruited Alberts to play for his Badgers program. The Badgers moved Alberts to defensive end. Alberts had suffered a knee injury in high school and it slowed him during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Finally, he was a part-time starter as a junior and then a starter as a senior.

The Badgers, which had been a consistent contender during most of Bruhn's tenure, were starting to slide. The Badgers went 10-17-1 during Alberts' three years on varsity. 

No. 97 - Rodger Alberts, Auburn
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1960	High School	Auburn	Starter on losing team	0
1961	High School	Auburn	First Team All-Conference	2
			Winning Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
			Conference MVP	1
1962	College	Wisconsin	Player on Power 5 freshman team	2
1963	College	Wisconsin	Player on Power 5 team	2
1964	College	Wisconsin	Letter winner on Power 5 team	4
			Starter	1
1965	College	Wisconsin	Letter winner on Power 5 team	4
			Starter	1
Total				19

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players