UM had a strong defensive showing in its win over Virginia. This player is a big reason why.
Gregory Rousseau said he learned the Tuesday leading up to Miami’s matchup against Virginia that he’d make his first career start.
Nothing big changed about his approach. The Miami Hurricanes defensive end said he was slightly nervous as game time drew near, until he got on the field.
“At the end of the day, when you get out on the field, it’s not like you’re thinking ‘Oh, I’m starting’ during the play,” Rousseau said after Miami’s 17-9 win over Virginia. “You know you’re just gonna go.”
Rousseau had already proven he was worthy of more playing time, as defensive coordinator Blake Baker stated after he recorded a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble and recovery against Central Michigan.
Through five games, Rousseau led the Hurricanes (3-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) in sacks with four and was tied in tackles for loss with 5 1/2 for 31 yards.
The redshirt freshman’s play prompted Miami to give him the nod over redshirt junior defensive end Scott Patchan on Friday. And it paid off.
Rousseau tallied seven total tackles (four solo), two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
“Greg was just relentless tonight,” cornerback Trajan Bandy said. “He got after the quarterback. He did his job. He played fast. He keyed the quarterback. And he makes plays.”
Rousseau, who has been one of the Hurricanes’ most effective pass rushers this season, led a dominant defensive front that didn’t give up a touchdown in Friday night’s win, and he made several critical plays down the stretch that kept Virginia out of the end zone.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1) had the ball in Miami territory thanks to a 72-yard punt return by receiver Joe Reed.
On third and 10 at the UM 17, Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins was taken down by Rousseau for a 10-yard loss, and he lost the ball. Perkins recovered Rousseau’s forced fumble, but the sack forced Virginia to kick a field goal.
“Greg is a tall guy, as you can see,” Bandy said of the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder. “He’s very long. He has speed, and he has relentless play. Man, he takes one step and it’s like five yards. So, I’m just like dang, man, he’s fast.”
Rousseau also had a quarterback pressure in the third quarter that forced Perkins to throw the ball away on first down.
He said after the game that he challenged himself to uphold the “Miami standard” in his first career start. He added that even though it’s expected that he make plays as a member of the UM defense, which ranked 15th nationally and third in the ACC ahead of Friday’s game, he knew he had to do that, plus more, on Friday.
“Greg has been coming and coming and coming, and he’s been getting better every week and getting more sound in his assignments in the run game,” coach Manny Diaz said. “ … We’ve been saying since his first year, his first spring, that we knew he had a big-time future ahead of him. And what an awesome young man and, boy, it’s always fun to watch him out there wreaking havoc.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2019 at 6:37 PM.