New London — If there's one story that best illustrates Dom Rogers' enthusiasm as a first-year assistant football coach at the Coast Guard Academy, it comes from head coach Bill George:

"I had to get him off the field," George said with a laugh at Wednesday's weekly team luncheon. "I thought we were sending 12 guys out for the extra point."

But there's a reason for Rogers' exuberance.

He played football for Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., where he earned all-conference and National Christian College and NAIA All-America honors as a cornerback during his junior and senior seasons. From there, even from an NAIA school, he received an invitation to several NFL training camps, landing at the camp of the Minnesota Vikings from March to July, 2013.

Rogers earnestly believes in small college football.

"It doesn't matter what level it is, if it's not Alabama or whatever, you can still play good football," Rogers said. "I genuinely care. I see the bigger picture, not just football. There's joy in playing small school football; it gets overlooked ... knowing you don't get these days back. One day when they become coaches, I want them to get excited about coaching."

Rogers, 26, enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2014 and currently serves as a yeoman third class petty officer in cadet administration, as well as coaching the Bears' running backs. He was training in California, he said, when the subject of serving in New London came up.

"Some people said, 'I'm not going to New London,'" said Rogers, who hails from Plano, Texas. "I said, 'I've never been to Boston before, I'll take it. Somebody said, 'The Coast Guard Academy is there. They have football.' I thought, 'Maybe I can help coach. That'll be fun.'

"They've been great to me, giving a new coach his first coaching opportunity. They've been patient, understanding, teaching me coaching etiquette. They treat me like family. They care about my life. They really do care."

George, in his 18th season with the Bears and the program's all-time wins leader, said Rogers made an impression on him right from his first spring practice this year. It was during a defensive drill that George saw Rogers correcting a player.

"Within the first five minutes I could tell," George said.

Despite Rogers' natural talent for coaching, however, George sees him as a future Coast Guardsman. He's encouraging Rogers to apply to Coast Guard's Officer Candidate School.

"Once a generation a Lombardi comes along," George said. "The academy needs him. He has a natural rapport with young people, but he's not easy on them. He is what this Coast Guard Academy needs as a future officer."

Rogers, at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, finished with nine interceptions and 37 pass breakups in a three-year career for Trinity International, earning pro day tryouts as a junior and a senior. After his senior season he received NFL camp invites from several teams, including the Vikings, Bears, Browns and Ravens.

He picked the Vikings because of the small college connection: the coach of the Vikings was Leslie Frazier, who formerly served as the inaugural coach of the program at Trinity International.

"We got some watches. It was surreal, a watch, just for being in training camp," Rogers said. "Once I looked over and I was playing nickel corner next to Xavier Rhodes (the Vikings' No. 1 pick out of Florida State). It was pretty fun. ... I was there for one preseason game. When I didn't get to play in the preseason, you knew you were going to get cut."

Rogers, drawing on his Christian background, decided after his playing career was over that he wanted to serve in some manner, thus his enlistment in the Coast Guard. He and his wife Yasaman reside in Groton.

Coast Guard (3-5 overall, 2-3 in the New England Football Conference) plays its final home game of the season beginning at noon Saturday against Endicott.

"Even the cadets inspire me, the stuff they have to do to play college football," Rogers said. "We love it here. Coach George has to keep me calmed down."

v.fulkerson@theday.com