Miami’s Quincy Roche, ‘damn good football player,’ finally goes to Pittsburgh Steelers
Quincy Roche was quite the on-field celebrity when he came to Miami in early 2020 as a Temple graduate transfer who was the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
All the defensive end did was keep his head down, work ferociously and stay mostly in the background — until Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Steelers chose Roche as the 32nd pick of the sixth round (216th overall) of the NFL Draft. He was listed as a linebacker when the NFL released the Steelers pick.
Although the wait had to be nerve-racking, no doubt he’s feeling relieved now and focused on his future.
“If you watch my film, I think I surely checked all the boxes,’’ the always polite, understated Roche, 23, said March 29 on UM Pro Day, when he performed very well and got rave reviews despite being in the shadow of Rousseau and fellow defensive end Jaelan Phillips. He was pleased to show he’s more than just a hand-in-the-dirt pass-rusher and that he had speed and the ability to move in space and drop into coverage. “I’ve been blessed to be able to do it all over my career.“
‘Biggest winner’ Pro Day
ESPN draft analyst and former NFL scout Jim Nagy, the executive director of Reese’s Senior Bowl, posted on Twitter that the “biggest winner at Miami pro-day was Quincy Roche.’’
“Skilled & highly disruptive (30.5 sacks, 54 TFL, 8 FF, 8 FR),’’ Nagy said. “Many felt he was just an overachiever but ran 4.66 today. You want this guy on your NFL team. Just a damn good football player.’’
Roche, who measured at just over 6-2 and 243 pounds on UM Pro Day, was timed in the 40 at 4.62 by several in attendance. He led all UM players with 23 reps in the bench press, had a 32.5-inch vertical jump and broad jumped 9-11.
“Quincy was excellent today,’’ UM coach Manny Diaz said that day. “He showed a lot of versatility. There are different ways a team can use him. Quincy’s just good at football. He’s got great instincts, got a great knack for the game. He can bend, he can turn sharp angles. Quincy is one of those guys who will always be productive and fill up a state sheet,’’ including “big, game-changing type plays.’’
Temple star
Roche proved to be a gifted pass-rusher in college. In 2019, his final season at Temple, he finished with 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks (tied for seventh most in the country). At one point last season, Roche was the FBS active sacks leader with 28 1/2, but fell down the list to No. 19 with 30 1/2 by the end of the season, tied with 2020 overall No. 2 draft choice (Washington) Chase Young of Ohio State (three seasons) and Trevardo Williams (four seasons) of Connecticut.
With Phillips on the opposite side, Roche, from Randallstown, Maryland, ended his 2020 season with 45 tackles, including 14 1/2 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks. He tied for the ACC lead with three forced fumbles and had two fumble recoveries.
“He’s a workaholic and smart,’’ former fellow UM defensive end and new Buffalo Bill Greg Rousseau said of Roche back in October 2020, when Rousseau chose to opt out because of the coronavirus pandemic. “His football IQ is really high. Great guy.’’
Former UM defensive coordinator Blake Baker, now the linebackers coach at LSU, said Roche was “slippery” and “very instinctual.” Diaz implied how Roche’s gifts sometimes were underplayed because of how easy it had been to see the 6-5, 260-pound Phillips “because of his size” on the other side.
Diaz said Roche’s “ability to slip blocks and beat tackles and understand where the ball is serves him well.’’
Roche, who exudes maturity, always seemed like a team guy and never came off as insecure or resentful of the attention Phillips received.
“It’s a blessing to have somebody as talented as him on the other side who can do so many things,’’ he once said. “I’ve been learning a lot from him. He’s been learning a lot from me. That’s really going to make us better.’’
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 5:15 PM.
