Former Miami RedHawks cornerback Quinten Rollins has been selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 62nd overall pick in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft.
Rollins earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after recording 72 tackles (4.0 for loss), seven interceptions (third nationally, led MAC), nine pass breakups and one forced fumble. Against the Michigan Wolverines at the Michigan Stadium, Rollins recorded six tackles and an interception, and eight tackles with two interceptions against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
More "Quinterception"
More "Quinterception"
What everybody really knows about Rollins is that he was a point guard for the Miami basketball team for four years leading up to his short-lived college football career as a 5th year senior. He was actually a star on the hardwood too. He's second all-time at Miami (12th in the MAC) with 214 steals, fourth at Miami with 391 steals, and ninth in minutes played with 3,449. His senior year, he was ranked 14th nationally in steals.
In late April, Todd McShay even compared Rollins to Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman, saying his basketball skills are what make him a good football player to begin with. NFL's Lance Zierlen says that his comparison is to Perrish Cox, and that Rollins has "rare start-stop-start suddenness" but his lack of experience hurts his technique and early playing time.
At the NFL Combine, Rollins ran a 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds, had 14 reps on the 225 pound bench press, and showed off his hops with a 36.5 inch vertical and 122.0 inch board jump.
Rollins is now the first player since 2013 to be drafted from Miami since Zac Dysert was selected in the seventh round by the Denver Broncos, but the first one from Miami during the Chuck Martin era.