Marist alum Jimmy Rolder had quite the unique NFL draft experience last weekend.
While most selected players spent their big day at home or at a party with friends and family, Rolder received the news on a golf course in Fort Myers, Florida. He was helping his stepfather with a Champions 4 Children charity event when the Detroit Lions picked him.
“I was sitting on the golf cart at a hole and the call came in,” Rolder said in a press conference after the draft. “That was pretty much it. I started celebrating a little bit and then I got a call from Lions staff so it was right back to another call. But then I was able to celebrate with some family.”
Rolder, a linebacker who had a breakout season last fall at Michigan, was chosen Saturday by the Lions in the fourth round with the 118th overall pick.
He was part of a trio of former Marist players selected in the draft.
Receiver Carnell Tate, who started his high school career with the RedHawks before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida, went to the Tennessee Titans in the first round at No. 4. The Titans also took offensive lineman Pat Coogan, a Marist graduate, in the sixth round with pick No. 194.
For Rolder, it made sense that his draft day was a bit different. After all, his entire journey to the NFL has been that way.
Rolder was committed to play baseball at Illinois before receiving a late wave of football recruiting interest as a senior, eventually leading him to sign with Michigan.
“I wasn’t really sure what the future held with football, but football has always been my passion,” Rolder said. “After only playing a few games of football my junior year because of COVID, I got my first offer about six weeks into my senior season.
“It was a big-time blessing, and I’m very glad and grateful that it happened because I like baseball but I love football. I’m just glad everything worked out.”
Ron Dawczak, who was Rolder’s coach at Marist, recalled encouraging him not to give up on football even when recruiting was stagnant.
“Jimmy trusted me when I told him to continue to work hard and continue to improve,” Dawczak said. “I told him, ‘I do believe great things are coming your way.’ It was just a matter of getting teams to notice him.
“I just knew when guys saw him play, he was going to get that recognition. To see it all come to fruition was really gratifying.”
Rolder started just one season at Michigan, but he turned heads when he got that opportunity last fall, posting a team-leading 73 tackles and earning second team all-Big Ten honors.
“I think I’m really just getting started,” Rolder said. “As I was playing more, I was playing with more and more confidence each week and I think the ceiling is way, way high now.”
Coogan, meanwhile, is coming off winning a national championship at Indiana.
“I’ve told people that Pat’s story could be a movie,” Dawczak said. “His leadership has shown through from day one. I’m so proud of him.”
During his press conference after the draft, Coogan told reporters he’s ready to go.
“All I’m looking to do is come in and get to work,” he said. “That’s who I am and what I’m about. I’m going to compete every single day, put my best foot forward, come into the facility every day and be the same guy.”
Being teammates with Tate again? That’s the icing on the cake.
“Me and Carnell, we go way back,” Coogan said. “At Marist, we’d drive to workouts together at 5:45 in the morning.
“The South Side of Chicago, there’s nothing like it. There’s connections everywhere and it’s funny how far that travels. Now to the NFL.”
