Oscar Rodriguez wasn’t looking for a community college job in 2023, when he was among the finalists to replace Dale Lindsey as the University of San Diego’s head football coach.
At the time, Rodriguez was a defensive analyst at the University of Kansas. He had been a defensive coordinator and interim head coach at the University of Akron.
Rodriguez didn’t get the USD job. But during the process, he met a young USD assistant athletic director named Ron Valenzuela, who months later was named athletic director at Southwestern College, a school better known for its soccer programs than football success.
Valenzuela soon needed a football coach to rebuild a program that was probably in more trouble than even its just-completed 1-9 season would indicate.
One of the first names that crossed Valenzuela’s mind was Oscar Rodriguez.
“We had met during the interview process at USD,” Valenzuela recalled. “Oscar had made a great impression on me. We connected. So, I gave Coach Rod a call. Would he like to step away from Division I and coach a struggling California community college?”
Rodriguez’s response was quick and not totally unexpected: “No way,” he said. But Valenzuela responded: “Think about it.”
And Rodriguez did. For three weeks. His answer went from a no to a maybe to a yes.
“This is not where I expected to be. Where I was at and what I wanted, Southwestern wasn’t in my plan,” Rodriguez said Monday. “It’s just the timing in life. This got my wife (Lauren) and I back to Southern California. And I finally thought, ‘If I build something here, I’ll have opportunities.’
“I put ego and pride to one side and remembered my roots. I’m a two-time cancer survivor. My parents were immigrants from Mexico. I started in school taking English as a second language. I connected with the core of the Chula Vista area. A lot of things were pulling me this way.”
The Jaguars are now in their second season under Rodriguez. They are 3-0 and ranked No. 28 in the nation heading into Saturday’s home game against Mt. San Jacinto College.
It didn’t happen overnight.
Rodriguez didn’t take over until late February 2024. The recruiting season had passed. When spring drills began, only 25 players turned out — “and none of them could play,” he said.
So Rodriguez canceled spring drills early, hit the road and searched for players who were transferring out of other programs, coming off injuries or even trying football for the first time.
The Jaguars went 2-8 last season, but the contacts Rodriguez and his staff had made started paying off.
Players started transferring in, and local prospects decided to stay home. The roster turned over in a matter of months.
Forty-one of the 88 players on this year’s roster are from out of state. But 39 are products of local high schools, and almost half of them are bounce-backs from four-year schools.
“I don’t call it recruiting. I call it connecting,” Rodriguez said. “Guys like myself aren’t real sexy for a program until we get there. It’s a lot of 1-on-1 time between myself, my staff and the players we want to add in here. One of our missions is to eliminate the stigma of community college football and two-year schools. This is an opportunity, a second chance — not a second choice.
“We have 15 to 20 players who could compete at Division I.”
At the top of that list is tight end Josiah Jefferson, a 6-foot-3 ¾, 225-pound sophomore tight end who was better known for his basketball skills at Mater Dei Catholic High School.
Jefferson is ranked as the No. 1 junior college tight end in the country, “and I think he’ll play in the NFL,” said Rodriguez.
Other top players include linebacker Jeremiah Jones, a 6-foot, 225-pound sophomore from Kennesaw, Ga.; offensive tackle Jonah Rodriguez, a 6-foot-4, 291-pound sophomore from Madison High School who began his career at the University of Arizona; and quarterback Brayten Silbor, a 6-foot-3 Scottsdale native who transferred from Lehigh University.
Silbor has completed 48 of 71 passes through three games for 635 yards and seven touchdowns against no interceptions.
Silbor is one of four former Scottsdale Chaparral High School products on the Southwestern roster. Running back Jamarei Ashby-Phan arrived first.
“Jamarei got here and let us know this was a good option,” said Silbor, who hadn’t played for 1 ½ years due to a shoulder injury. “A two-year college was not in my planning. But this is not your average junior college program. It’s a great culture, a Division I culture. I was just excited for the opportunity Coach Rod presented. We’re run multiple systems, adjusting to defenses. It’s not like a coming-out-of-high-school program.”
Said Rodriguez: “We’re not married to one system. If we’ve got two great tight ends, we’re playing both.”
Southwestern opened its season with a 26-24 win over College of the Canyons. The Jaguars then hung 71 points on Orange Coast College and beat Long Beach City College by 24.
“Where this program is, it’s day and night from where it was when I transferred in at the start of last season,” said sophomore Dylan Eads, a graduate of Christian High School in El Cajon who started his college career at Northern Arizona University. “This program has matured and grown beyond what you could expect. Everyone knew Coach Rod was going to flip it, but no one thought it would be this fast. Now we want to show we can be the best. This is something I’m proud to be a part of. I’ve never had this much fun.
“But I couldn’t see where we are today from where we were a year ago. This is pretty amazing.”
Every week during the school year, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.