But in his heart, a 14-year-old Rodriguez knew he didn’t belong.
“I always wanted to go to North Bergen,” Rodriguez said. “But my mother and Tom thought it would be better if I went to Hudson Catholic. They told me to try it out and see what happened.”
Rodriguez began football practices at Hudson Catholic and was working out with the varsity as an incoming freshman, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I just wasn’t comfortable there,” Rodriguez said. “I knew I had to be in North Bergen. I talked to my Mom and she let me come back. I was happy. I knew it was going to be a great decision.”
The second instance came a little over a year ago, when Rodriguez’ athletic career at North Bergen – already blossoming and reaching epic proportions – got sidetracked because of disciplinary problems.
Rodriguez was first involved in a car theft incident, then found himself arrested for his participation in a fight at a Jersey City party. A judge saw a pattern of behavior brewing and sentenced Rodriguez to a month in the Hudson County Youth House for juvenile offenders.
The month away changed Rodriguez’ life forever.
“I don’t think it was the best thing that could have happened to me, but it definitely served as a wake-up call for me,” Rodriguez said. “It definitely made me realize that it was not the path that I wanted to go. If I wanted to become someone in life, I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing.”
One of the wake-up calls came while Rodriguez was incarcerated.
“One kid in there said, ‘Hey, Evan, what are you doing here?’ You don’t belong in this place.’ You know what? He was right. I shouldn’t have been there. I realized then that I could have lost it all. It was a huge lesson in my life. I could have thrown it all away.”
However, Rodriguez used the month away as a motivation to become a better person and to insure that his place of prominence would not be deterred by stupidity and immaturity.
“It wasn’t going to happen again,” Rodriguez said.
It was good, because Rodriguez was already building a resume that placed him among the all-time greats at North Bergen.
As a football player, he had no peers. Rodriguez was a starter for the Bruins since he walked through the doors of the Bruins’ weight room – the first-ever freshman to ever start varsity right away. He made plays as a freshman free safety that had never been seen, including two plays in a state playoff loss to Hackensack, where Rodriguez ran about 130 yards on successive plays to make tackles.
“I think that’s what put him on the map,” North Bergen veteran football coach Vince Ascolese said. “He made some great plays and to think he was only a freshman.”
As a sophomore, Rodriguez also became the Bruins’ starting quarterback and never relinquished the duties. He became the best all-around football performer that North Bergen had seen since the days in 1984 of Eddie Duran, a very similar quarterback/free safety who went on to play defensive back at Boston College.
“He was probably equal to Eddie Duran,” Ascolese said. “Maybe even better than him. Evan is right at the top of what we’ve ever had, especially as an all-around player.”
“I don’t know much about him, but I’ve heard his name and the way people say I play like him,” Rodriguez said. “I know he had a good career at Boston College and it’s good when people compare me with the best like Eddie. It’s a great honor.”
Rodriguez passed and rushed for more than 5,000 yards during his career and scored more than 60 touchdowns, throwing for about 30 more. He was the perfect combination of offense and defense, because his ability as a defensive back had no peers.
“One thing, he was running full speed in a matter of strides and when he was going, he could cover five yards in two strides,” Ascolese said. “That was amazing to see. His stride, his strength, his ability to cover ground. I never saw anything like it before.”
But Rodriguez was more than a football player. He was also a great basketball player during his days at North Bergen.
In fact, Rodriguez’ first love has always been basketball.
“I took a lot of pride in basketball and played basketball all the time,” Rodriguez said. “I loved playing basketball and I thought I was a better basketball player. It was my favorite sport since I was little.”
Rodriguez was the workhorse for the Bruins on the hardwood, averaging double figures in points and rebounds for two seasons, one of which culminated in 2006 with the Bruins’ first HCIAA championship since 1978. It was the combination of the football and basketball skills that has enabled Rodriguez to capture the 2006-2007 Hudson Reporter Male Athlete of the Year, symbolic of the best Hudson County male athlete to participate in more than one varsity sport in the past scholastic school year.
Rodriguez is the third North Bergen athlete to receive the year-end honor, joining Czar Wiley (1996-1997) and Koz Perez (1997-1998). The Hudson Reporter has been presenting the award to the top athletes in Hudson County since Jason Casessa of Hoboken received the honor in 1992.
Rodriguez received his award from Hudson Reporter Editor-in-Chief Caren Lissner last week.
“It’s a great honor,” Rodriguez said. “It’s just hit me. When I was a little kid, I would look up to other athletes and hoped that I could be on the field with other Bruins. When someone tells me I’m the best, I say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe it.’ It’s every little kid’s dream. I had a great time in high school. I was able to accomplish a lot, through the ups and downs. Part of being a Bruin was being able to give my all and never let my team down. I think I did that.”
Rodriguez will now take his immense talents to the University of West Virginia. He’s already headed there to become a Mountaineer.
“I’m a little nervous and a little excited,” said Rodriguez, who will be a free safety at West Virginia. “I’m ready for the challenge. I have to come back to North Bergen with a degree. I can’t let anyone down. I can’t let myself down.”
Ascolese believes that Rodriguez will be a star at West Virginia.
“His strength now will become phenomenal, because he’s going to concentrate on one sport,” Ascolese said. “Right now, most of what he does has been done naturally. He’s only in the weight room like 60 percent of the time. He never had to work hard to get strong. With his natural athleticism and his nose for the ball, he’s going to succeed.”
Especially since Rodriguez has put his troubled times in the distant past.
“What happened, Evan was easily led and made some mistakes,” Ascolese said. “I think it made him realize and focus on what he had. He received great support from his mother, from Tom, from his coaches. He then realized what he had to do and made the most of it. He has all the tools to do as well as he wants.”
Rodriguez realizes that.
“I just thank God for giving me a second chance,” Rodriguez said. “I could have thrown it all away.”