QB Roche commits to Fighting Saints
Mac Roche played only one game for the
Bulldogs last year, but that was all he needed to define his
potential as a collegiate quarterback.
The senior signal-caller tossed three
touchdown strikes against Havre in the first 12 minutes of
Whitefish’s 2010 season-opener, including bombs of 28, 67 and 38
yards. But just as he was getting warmed up for a career season,
his time on the turf abruptly ended.
At the start of the second quarter,
Roche scrambled toward the sideline on a quarterback zone lead
right. He easily picked up three yards, but as he cut back up the
field in an effort to gain a few more — classic Roche grit on full
display — three Havre tacklers hit him from all sides.
Roche knew he tweaked his foot on
impact but shook off the stinging pain and proceeded to finish out
the game. The next day, an MRI revealed stress fractures in his
left foot, enough to sideline the gun-slinger for the remainder of
the year.
Yet, Carroll College head football
coach Mike Van Diest, who was in the stands at Havre that
afternoon, had seen all he needed. Roche was his “diamond in the
rough.”
Earlier this month, Roche signed to
play football with Carroll College in Helena. The Fighting Saints
are six-time NAIA champions on the gridiron, most recently knocking
off Sioux Falls 10-7 in this year’s national championship game.
Saints coach Mike Van Diest said they
went after Roche predominantly based on his 2009 performance and
that first half against Havre.
“We watched him as a junior,” Van Diest
told the Pilot. “We knew he was all-conference, and we knew a lot
about him from his coaches. Then I saw him play in that ball game
against Havre and was impressed with his skill level. He showed
that he’s very mobile and keeps plays alive with his feet.”
The Saints’ offensive coordinator, Nick
Howlett, likes Roche’s throwing mechanics and says he will fit
right into their offensive schemes. Van Diest compared Roche to the
Saints’ 2010 quarterback, Gary Wagner.
“I like Mac’s attitude and
personality,” the coach said. “He has that quarterback temperament.
I think he’ll fit into our system nicely.”
Whitefish football coach Chad Ross
calls Roche a natural leader in the huddle and points to his
willingness to help out on the sideline this season after his
injury.
“He could have packed it in,” Ross
said. “But he came in every day and helped [quarterback] Connor
[Donahue] get to where he’s at.”
Ross thinks Roche has a good future
ahead of him.
“He’s going to be very successful at
Carroll,” he said. “It’s a great fit for him.”
Roche decided to sign with Carroll not
long after he broke his foot. The other colleges interested in his
arm, including Montana State and the University of Montana, fell
off the radar after the injury, but Van Diest kept in contact.
“Carroll was the one school that kept
going after me the whole time,” Roche said. “Coach Van Diest saw me
break my foot and play through it, and he still really wanted me to
play for him. It’s nice to be wanted.”
Playing football, particularly
quarterback, was instilled in Roche at a young age. His father,
William Roche, always plowed the backyard so the two could play
catch through the winter.
In school-yard pick-up games, Roche was
always the quarterback, and it was the same in middle school. He
was handed the ball for the Bulldogs’ varsity team as a sophomore
and put up all-conference numbers as a junior. It’s easy to imagine
what his senior year could have been if he had stayed healthy.
Roche is a little nervous but mostly
excited about the chance to play for the heralded Saints, and he
says he’s prepared for the pressure.
“Carroll’s a great program,” he said.
“It’ll be a pressure situation, and a lot depends on the
quarterback, but in their system, I think I can go in and have a
good career.”
Roche says his ability as a leader in
the huddle comes from his father, and he thinks it will translate
to the collegiate level with a little work.
“I try to model after my dad and try to
be the best man I can,” he said. “I’ll go to college, work as hard
as I can and try to earn the respect of the other players. It
starts with proving that you can do it on the field, then you have
to be the vocal leader.”
Roche joins his older brother, Willie,
who is on Carroll’s track team, along with two cousins who will
play for the Saints’ football team. And Daniel Simmons, a 2009
Whitefish graduate and running back, recently transferred to play
football with Carroll.
It’s likely Roche will redshirt his
freshman season. He’s unsure what he’ll study, but he’s considering
education.