Sport Analytics Podcast - Episode #10 - Alexander Rogers - Football Analyst - Tennessee Titans

03/29/25 • 26 min

Audio Note: We had a technical issue with echo during the introduction, but it improves as the video goes along—thanks for bearing with us!In our tenth episode of the Sport Analytics Podcast, our host Amrit Vignesh chats with Alexander Rogers, currently a Football Analyst for the Tennessee Titans. Alex’s journey stretches from playing collegiate football at Drake University to refining his data chops as a senior analyst at Hy-Vee, then diving into NBA strategy and research with the Phoenix Suns—all before making the jump to the NFL.He walks us through how balancing on-field responsibilities at Drake honed his discipline and communication, why short, visual insights often matter more than long reports in a busy NFL front office, and how next-generation college tracking data shapes draft prep and player evaluations. If you’re curious about blending a gridiron background with analytics, this episode offers the real-world roadmap from college ball to professional R&D.

Key Takeaways:

From Gridiron to Analytics: How a collegiate playing career helps interpret data and speak coaches’ language—though it’s not a must-have.

Season vs. Offseason: Short-term coach-focused insights in-season vs. deep R&D and scouting analysis after the final whistle.

Hybrid Skills in Action: Learning to handle everything from data engineering to front-office stakeholder questions at a “startup-like” NFL analytics group.

Visuals & One-Liners: Why color-coded dashboards and quick-hitting metrics turn heads and drive decisions at the highest levels.

Strategic Networking: Tips on building a standout portfolio, refining cold outreach, and showing teams you’re ready to contribute.🔔 Subscribe to our channel for more episodes featuring leaders in sports analytics, career insights, and technical deep-dives!📧 For inquiries or collaborations, contact Dave Yount at [email protected].🎵 Music Credit: Intro and outro music for this episode is “Nomu” by Good Kid.#SportsAnalytics #FootballAnalytics #NFL #NFLanalytics #TennesseeTitans #CollegeFootball #DataScience #PlayerTracking #NBA #PhoenixSuns #Visualization #CareerAdvice #DrakeUniversity

Key Takeaways:

From Gridiron to Analytics: How a collegiate playing career helps interpret data and speak coaches’ language—though it’s not a must-have.

Season vs. Offseason: Short-term coach-focused insights in-season vs. deep R&D and scouting analysis after the final whistle.

Hybrid Skills in Action: Learning to handle everything from data engineering to front-office stakeholder questions at a “startup-like” NFL analytics group.

Visuals & One-Liners: Why color-coded dashboards and quick-hitting metrics turn heads and drive decisions at the highest levels.

Previous Episode

Sport Analytics Podcast - Episode #9 - Ron Yurko - Professor & Director of Sports Analytics Center - Carnegie Mellon University

In our ninth episode of the Sport Analytics Podcast, our host Amrit Vignesh sits down with Dr. Ron Yurko, an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science at Carnegie Mellon University and the Director of the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center. Ron’s path spans an internship with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a data science role at Zelus Analytics (now Teamworks), and a PhD at Carnegie Mellon—where he now guides the next wave of analysts, develops open-source tools, and co-organizes the annual CMU Sports Analytics Conference.Ron highlights how his early experience manually tracking on-field data at PNC Park fueled his passion for large-scale research, why Python vs. R matters less than mastering the foundations of statistical methods, and how competitions like the NFL Big Data Bowl serve as springboards for building a public portfolio. From uncovering hidden signal in high-dimensional data to exploring the new frontier of pose-based biomechanics, Ron shares his vision of where sports analytics is heading—and how students, researchers, and industry pros can stay ahead of the curve.Key Takeaways: Finding Your Path: How a cold email, an unexpected project, and relentless curiosity launched Ron’s sports analytics career. Big Data Bowl & Beyond: Why public competitions with tracking data are driving the next wave of innovative research. Academic + Industry Mix: Lessons from balancing advanced methodology with the day-to-day needs of teams and clients. Pose Data is Next: From raw player tracking to full skeletal modeling—what emerging data sources mean for future insights. Methodology Over Tool Wars: Why understanding model assumptions and uncertainty trumps any single programming language.🔔 Subscribe to our channel for more episodes featuring leaders in sports analytics, career insights, and technical deep-dives!📧 For inquiries or collaborations, contact me at [email protected].🎵 Music Credit: Intro and outro music for this episode is “Nomu” by Good Kid.#SportsAnalytics #DataScience #CarnegieMellon #MLB #NFL #NFLBigDataBowl #MachineLearning #AI #AnalyticsEducation #CareerAdvice #Academia #Innovation