‘Slippery’ Miami DE Quincy Roche leads FBS in tackles for loss. Greg Rousseau is a fan
That turnover chain is heavy, yeah, as Quincy Roche pointed out to reporters Tuesday. But not as heavy as a Roche tackle to send opponents flying in the wrong direction.
Miami Hurricanes defensive end Roche, from whom former Canes end Greg Rousseau said he had “learned a whole bunch of things’’ before Rousseau opted out of the 2020 season and announced his intention to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft, is now tied for the nation’s lead in tackles for loss — and getting better each week, say coaches.
“He’s a workaholic and smart,’’ Rousseau, a projected first-round pick, said in March of Roche. “His football IQ is really high. Great guy.’’
Roche, a Temple graduate transfer who was the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has 9 1/2 tackles for loss in five games for No. 11 UM (4-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to set players back 38 yards. He is tied with Justin Rice of Arkansas State and Dorian Etheridge of Louisville, each with the same number of tackles for loss in five games, though Rice’s have accounted for 43 yards of losses and Etheridge’s, 32.
Roche, the FBS active sacks leader with 28 1/2, has 2 1/2 sacks this season, with four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. He is a big reason the Canes are fifth nationally in team tackles for loss.
‘Seize the moment’
“When Greg decided to opt out, everybody on the D-line decided to step up,’’ Roche said Tuesday. “He was a great guy on the team — great player and great leader in the locker room. But me and [fellow ends] Jaelan [Phillips], Jahfari [Harvey], Cam [Williams], Chantz [Williams], we kind of embraced our roles. As long as everybody embraces their role and seizes the moment, we’ll be fine.”
Last year Roche, 6-3 and 245 pounds, finished with 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks (tied for seventh most in the country). On Saturday in UM’s 31-19 win over Pitt, Roche had four tackles for loss, earned his first turnover chain (and ACC Player of the Week honors) on his strip-sack-fumble recovery of Pitt quarterback Joey Yellen. Roche finished with a season-high seven tackles and helped UM hold the Panthers to 22 rushing yards.
“I’ve been trying to wear that chain all year,’’ Roche said. “It was a great feeling. It’s kind of heavy. I was walking around with it for about five minutes. I had to take it off.’’
Coaches and players alike rave about Roche’s athletic prowess. They also rarely fail to mention his gift of sharing his considerable grit and caring through leadership.
Coach Manny Diaz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker both spoke about Roche this week.
Slippery on field, leader off it
“From a physical standpoint we knew what we were getting and he’s done a great job,’’ said Baker. “He’s got an innate ability to rush the passer. He’s slippery, he’s very instinctual, just a really, really good football player. I’ve been really pleased and proud to watch him grow over the past four, five, six weeks and I still think he’s just scratching the surface.”
Said Diaz: “I love the way he’s taken ownership of the team. It’s really helped. We always knew he was a really, really good player. It’s easy to see [6-5, 266-pound] Jaelan because of his size — like when we had Rousseau. Quincy is just so instinctive on the field. His ability to slip blocks and beat tackles and understand where the ball is serves him well. But he has also tried week in and week out to play more and more in the framework of the defense.
“Sometimes you’ve got to erase habits when you do things for [the previous] three years. We’ve had this in the past with some of our grad transfers. His willingness to do that has been really encouraging.’’
Last week, besides dominating on the field, Roche ran “up and down the sideline on the offensive side of the bench,“ Diaz told WQAM, “encouraging those guys when they were stuck for a little bit — not just making himself better but making his teammates better.”
Roche said that version of himself comes from sharing “sweat equity” with his “guys.’’
“Sometimes being vocal is needed and sometimes it’s not,’’ he said. “It’s kind of on the spot, looking around, looking at the guys, seeing what the vibe is on the sideline and trying to be the best leader you can.
“I’m just trying to get the guys riled up, just being a team player... That just comes from being excited for your guys.’’
And Roche’s “guys” are appreciative.
“They don’t get enough credit for holding down the guards and freeing up our gaps for us,’’ freshman linebacker Corey Flagg said Tuesday when asked how his linemen and Roche in particular helped the linebackers. “Everyone knows Quincy is a great player on the field. That’s no shocker. But the biggest thing is he’s a great person off the field.
“He’s a great leader, great guy. I give huge kudos to Quincy. He’s not that cocky. He’s a very humble guy.’’
Hedley’s future
Miami’s punter extraordinaire, Lou Hedley, who shared ACC Player of the Week honors with Roche, said Tuesday that as of now he wants to return to play for the Canes rather than enter the draft. Hedley is a redshirt junior who is averaging 47.6 yards a punt.
“I think at the moment, I definitely want to come back next year,’’ Hedley said. “I know the pros are there, but I really want to concentrate on getting my degree and possibly a master’s. I’m really focused on getting educated and worrying about the league and pros after I pass that aspect.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
