I wanted to know what kind of player we're getting beyond the statistics and accolades but there are no recent videos of him on Youtube. So naturally I tried to find the most relevant game film to watch his snaps. I chose UNC because their LT is playing in the Senior Bowl now, they're in the Coastal and it was the most recent game.
First thing worth mentioning is that Temple spelled Roche for 4 full series in this game - 2 per half. If that's something they do even semi-regularly it makes his statistics much more impressive, and explains his high PFF grade. Judging by his effort he seemed somewhat disinterested in this game which makes sense considering the circumstances around his transfer - I'd wager he really values winning and playing in meaningful games. This was not a meaningful game.
His role/usage looked straight out of Baker's playbook. He was predominantly a RDE in 4-man fronts but occasionally played as a stand-up edge rusher in 3 or 4 man fronts. He also dropped into coverage a handful of times and there were a few plays where Temple stood him up as an LB of sorts to mug at the line and blitz from depth. He's capable of doing all of that but it's more style than substance as we know. Let the rushers rush.
All the talk about him has centered on his pass rush ability but it was his run defense that really stood out. 6'4" 235 is his listed size and he faced off with the aforementioned UNC LT Charlie Heck who's 6'8" 315 and earned a call up from the Shrine Bowl to the Senior Bowl. Roche won that battle quite handily imo. He has long arms and plays with excellent leverage. He's always initiating contact with his hands and he's able to control blocks without giving up ground. This enables him to shed in either direction and he made a couple tackles doing that. His effort in pursuit was missing in this game and there were a couple plays where he abandoned his assignment, but he was physical with Heck from start to finish. I think he embraced that challenge/competition and wanted to win his matchup. There was mutual respect between those guys after the whistle.
As a pass rusher he had limited opportunities but I saw glimpses of the moves that yield impressive production. His go-to move is the outside dip/rip and it's effective because he's assertive with his hands to chop the outside arm. His snap quickness is above average but not elite so he's most dangerous when he times the snap. Most college rushers only have 1 move but Roche also showed an inside counter move where again he chops the inside arm while accelerating straight to the QB. This is not a predetermined move - he's reactive to the LT oversetting too wide.
The areas where he's lacking are body control and balance. He can dip and bend around the edge reasonably well but he can't contort his body the way Rousseau can. He's tightly wound and his legs can get away from his frame so he ends up on the ground more than I'd like.
I liken him to Joe Jackson as a run defender but he's much more polished as a pass rusher, whereas 99 was an effort/cleanup guy. His consistently assertive hand use is something we haven't seen from any DL in recent years and I hope he shares his skills with the rest of the DL room. Miami is getting a mature, skilled, reliable player who can lock down his position consistently while providing multiple impact plays a game. You can't get enough guys like that.
