Greg Rousseau (a.k.a. Groot) is the Hurricanes’ Jerry Jeudy-approved third-down terror

Blake Baker calls him “Groot,” because of his physical resemblance to the massive, tree-like alien “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Todd Stroud calls him “Inspector Gadget,” because of how his extendo-limbs remind him of the cartoon and movie character.

But what does Gregory Rousseau like?

“I like Greg,” the workmanlike redshirt freshman said Tuesday.

Right now, he’s earned the right to have any nickname he wants. After an injury-plagued first year in Coral Gables, Rousseau has turned into the Miami Hurricanes’ most productive pass rusher in 2019. The 6-6, 260-pound defensive lineman leads Miami (0-2) with 3 1/2 tackles for loss and two sacks in the first two weeks despite only playing a total of 26 snaps.

In the Hurricanes’ 28-25 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, Rousseau made two of the game’s biggest plays despite only playing 12.

In the second quarter, Rousseau blew up a running play for a loss of 3 yards to help force a punt and set up Miami’s first touchdown just before halftime. He got into the backfield again in the fourth quarter, sacking the quarterback on third down to set up the now-infamous fourth-and-17.

It was the sort of performance that makes coaches reevaluate playing time and Baker said the Hurricanes are doing that.

When Miami hosts the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium for its home opener, Rousseau will almost certainly be an even bigger part of the Hurricanes’ defensive game plan.

“We’re going to continue to get him on the field more, and more and more. He has had two really good weeks,” the defensive coordinator said. “I’m really proud of him getting better, and better and better.”

Long before Miami took notice, Jerry Jeudy and a slew of NFL standouts all did. Rousseau, who is originally from Coconut Creek, grew up playing in the same parks as Jeudy, Calvin Ridley and Riley Ridley.

The Ridleys, now both playing wide receiver in the NFL, were the oldest of the group and they would hype up Jeudy, now the best wide receiver in the country for the Alabama Crimson Tide, to anyone who would listen.

Rousseau was the baby of the group, only in middle school the first time former Champagnat coach Dennis Marroquin met him, but the group of wideouts could tell he was going to be great, too.

At a seven-on-seven event, they pointed him out to Marroquin, who was their seven-on-seven coach with the Florida Fire. Rousseau eventually went to play for Marrouquin with the Lions and Fire.

“Other kids introduced me to him,” Marroquin said. “They were like, This is one of the guys. ... Greg was the little young guy and I saw him and I was like, Man, he’s going to be talented.”

Those young receivers only saw part of the potential with Rousseau.

Like those three, Rousseau was a wide receiver when he was younger and was even an all-state performer at the position his junior year at Champagnat.

For most of his career with the Lions, Rousseau was a receiver and a safety, only moved up to play defensive end and linebacker for his senior year after he committed to Miami as a defensive lineman.

He bulked up to 222 pounds by the time he graduated and joined the Hurricanes as a three-star prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. Still, his lack of experience at his new position and his thin frame made him look like a little bit of a project.

In a college weight program, Rousseau bulked up and cracked Miami’s two-deep depth chart for the start of 2018 before an ankle injury ended his season after only two games.

It turned out to be something a blessing. Without being able to focus on his play, Rousseau dedicated himself to the weight room and is now up about 40 pounds from when he arrived as an early enrollee last year.

He’s even big enough now for the Hurricanes to use him as a defensive tackle in their third-down package, where they can use him as an extra pass rusher in obvious throwing situations.

“I think being hurt allowed him to stick more time and investment in that weight room, and I think he’s definitely benefited from that a lot,” fellow defensive lineman Scott Patchan said. “I mean, he’s leading us in sacks right now.”

The next two weeks should be opportunities for Miami to dig deep into its bench before ACC play resumes in October.

By then, Rousseau’s role could look totally different. He’s making it impossible for the Hurricanes not to think it might.

Said Baker: “You’ll see more and more of Greg Rousseau as the season progresses.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2019 at 10:39 AM.