Miami football hopes DE Quincy Roche can build on dominance in ACC

The decision by redshirt sophomore defensive end Greg Rousseau to opt-out for the 2020 season will put graduate transfer, Quincy Roche, more into the spotlight as the best edge rusher on the Miami football team.

Quincy Roche joined the Miami football program during the 2020 offseason graded as the best-returning edge rusher in college football by Pro Football Focus. The trio of Roche, redshirt sophomore Greg Rousseau and redshirt junior Jaelan Phillips were expected to give Miami the best pass rush in the country.

The decision by Rousseau to opt-out for the 2020 season last week to stay healthy and prepare for the NFL Draft vaults Roche into the spotlight even more. Roche and Phillips still give Miami one of the elite pass-rushing tandems in college football this fall. The Hurricanes staff is also high on redshirt freshman Jahfari Harvey.

Roche transferred to the Miami football program from Temple during the offseason to prove he can play at a Power Five level. Roche bulked up from 235 to 245 pounds working with Miami strength and conditioning coordinator David Feeley. Roche needed to add strength and muscle to be ready to compete in the NFL.

PFF profiled Roche and ranked him seventh in the“2021 NFL Draft: Preseason edge defender rankings.” earlier this week. Adding a bull rush to his speed element will help Roche to get to the quarterback often for the Hurricanes in 2020. Roche had 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in 2019 with the Owls.

"7. QUINCY ROCHE, MIAMI (FL)Last season at Temple, Roche was utterly dominant with 68 total pressures and a 93.3 pass-rushing grade. He was also only listed at 235 pounds and racked up those pressures without a bull rush.The reason that’s important is that the ability to beat a Group of 5 tackle is a little different than that needed to beat an NFL tackle. If you can’t threaten with a bull rush at the NFL level, tackles are going to sit back with their arms wide and their pads open, unafraid in the knowledge that you can’t play through them and just waiting to clamp down on any move.The good news is that Roche is already listed at 245 pounds on Miami’s website, meaning he recognized it was an issue. That’s still on the small end for the position, but it is within reason. With how good he is at setting up his rushes based on the offensive tackle, Roche may still be able to get by at that size in the NFL.2020 OutlookGoing up against better competition in the ACC this season could prove hugely beneficial for his draft stock. While he dominated Power 5 offensive lines from Maryland (nine pressures) and Georgia Tech (seven pressures) last season, Roche now gets to see multiple NFL-caliber tackles.2020 Outlook.”"

Georgia Tech and Maryland are at the bottom end of Power Five programs. Games against Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina and Virginia Tech in 2020 should provide Roche with enough video for scouts to get an indication of how Roche performs against the best teams in college football.

With Rousseau not on the field to occupy double-teams in 2020, the likelihood is that Roche will receive double teams often this season. How Roche handles those double teams will be important to how the NFL Scouts project him at the next level. Roche is a pure DE in college who could become an outside linebacker in the NFL.

As a rush LB in a 3-4 defense, Roche fits perfectly at 6’3, 245 pounds. On a much bigger stage with the Miami football program against much better competition in the ACC than he had in the AAC, Roche could potentially have a chance to earn Defensive Player of the Year in two different conferences in back to back seasons.

With Phillips, Roche and Rousseau the Miami record of 52 sacks set by the 1989 national champions was thought to be in jeopardy. With Phillips, Roche and Harvey off the edge, the Hurricanes might still have a chance to record 52 sacks. Roche could be one of the best one year players in Miami history.