After playing at Temple from 2017 to 2019, Quincy Roche transferred to Miami. He wanted to show that he could compete against the best that there was, and he did just that during the 2020 season for the Hurricanes. Roche played opposite of Jaelan Phillips, with Gregory Rousseau opting out of the season. Roche and Phillips combined to form one of the best pass-rushing duos in the country for the Hurricanes. In his four-year collegiate career, Roche compiled over 180 tackles, 54 tackles for loss, and 30.5 sacks. The trio of Miami pass-rushers will be an interesting story to watch heading into the draft and the order that they are selected.
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Player Bio
Name: Quincy Roche
Jersey: #2
Position: Edge Rusher
School: Miami
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 243 lbs
Explosiveness (9.25/10)
Roche explodes out of his stance like a rocketship. His first step gives him an immediate advantage right from the snap. Roche’s immediate burst gives him an advantage against the offensive tackle, and Roche uses his plethora of pass-rush moves to push the tackle upfield more and swing back underneath or directly drive the tackle into the quarterback’s path. His explosiveness is a miss-match against tackles who aren’t exactly the most mobile.
Flexibility (8.75/10)
Talk about bend. Roche can put himself into a position to make plays that may seem impossible for him at his size. He can go underneath the tackle’s arms and right around their hip, and his explosiveness helps him from there to reach the quarterback.
Length (8.5/10)
At 6’3” and 243 pounds, Roche is leaner of an edge rusher than some would like him to be. He doesn’t appear to have the longest arms, but it doesn’t seem to hurt him. Roche uses his arms to his advantage and uses his length to his advantage.
Run Defense (8.25/10)
Roche does a good job of reading the offensive schemes. There were multiple times where Roche would make a read on an option or jet sweep and blow up the play. Unfortunately, there are occasions where he can get suckered in on the option plays and make the wrong decision. A lot of times Roche will key in on the running back, which opens up lanes for the quarterback to run or throw a quick slant or bubble screen to a receiver. Roche also has some issues with setting the edge. He will move too far inside, which will open a wide-open lane where he once was.
Football IQ (9/10)
Roche is a smart and quick processor. He can read the play in front of him quickly and read and react and be one of the first players to make the tackle. Roche knows when he has an advantage against an offensive tackle and how he can disrupt the quarterback.
Lateral Mobility (8.5/10)
Roche can work his way from one side of the defensive front to the other quickly. He knows how to read the offensive linemen and work his way to the side where the play is going as a result. Roche can move in any direction with ease.
Tackling (7.5/10)
If there is a weakness to his game, this is it. Roche rarely makes a tackle by himself. He gets to the quarterback first, which leads to the quarterback stepping up and letting other defenders gang tackle with him. Or, Roche is one of the many defenders that get to the quarterback or ball-carrier. There were many times where Roche was either too low and tried to grab an ankle or foot or too high to make the tackle.
Power (8.25/10)
Roche was met with a lot of double teams both during his time at Temple and at Miami. His power rush wasn’t what he used most of the time during his collegiate career as he relied mostly on his technique, length, and burst off of the line of scrimmage. He didn’t win on those double teams thanks to his power and instead relied on his technique and let others get to the quarterback, and then he would come in for clean-up.
Versatility (9/10)
Hand in the dirt? Check. Pass-rusher while standing up? Check. Viable run defender? Check. Can he cover running backs and tight ends? Yes. Spy against a mobile quarterback? Check. Roche can play a three-down role at the next level. He doesn’t have a weakness in his game.
Effort (3.5/5)
You’d like to see him put more consistent effort on some plays. If he gave it his all on every play, the offensive tackles wouldn’t stand a chance. Roche jogs on a lot of the plays that are away from him. Even if he is in a position to make a play, he seems to be gassed and is a few steps behind the ball-carrier.
Injury (5/5)
The injury sheet appears to be clean for Roche.
Player Summary
In a deep pass-rusher class, Roche could be selected higher than expected. He is a versatile weapon on the defense that doesn’t have a big weakness. If there is any, it could be his age. Roche is 23 years old and will be 24 following his rookie season. Age doesn’t factor into this grade as much as some other scouts have it affect theirs. Roche is a bit lean for an edge rusher, but that shouldn’t stop teams from taking him on day two of the draft in April. Many even have him as their favorite of the three Miami pass-rushers.
Final Grade (85.5/100): Early Second-Round
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