By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Greg Rousseau learned a tough lesson this week.
When you’re 6-foot-6, weigh 260 pounds and have a wingspan that might even make an NBA player or two take note, finding a well-fitting suit can be an adventure.
But the defensive end has long known this: his unique frame sure comes in handy when trying to bring quarterbacks to the ground, something Rousseau did more than any other player in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year.
Rousseau, who was sidelined by a serious ankle injury just two games into the 2018 season, became one of Miami’s breakout players this fall tallying a conference-high 14 sacks and 18 tackles for loss during his first season as a starter.
On Friday evening, the redshirt freshman will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he’ll be formally recognized as the ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year – hence the need for a suit. It’s an honor he won in overwhelming fashion after voting by all 14 league coaches and 46 members of the media.
Rousseau is the second Hurricane to earn that recognition on his side of the ball, following former Miami linebacker Sean Spence, who won the award in 2008. Former Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson was named the ACC’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 while former quarterback Brad Kaaya earned the same award in 2014.
“It definitely adds a lot when you see who else has won this,” Rousseau said. “Just knowing I could be in that class of people is amazing. It’s crazy. It’s really just a blessing and it’s a testament to my coaching staff and my teammates, of course. My family and friends are always pushing me along, even when times get tough.”
A year ago, times were plenty tough for Rousseau.
Not long after enrolling at Miami, Rousseau impressed teammates, coaches and fans with his 5.5 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks in Miami’s spring game.
He’d add another four tackles and two sacks to his spring numbers in a scrimmage a week later and every expectation was that Rousseau would work his way into the rotation on a talented defensive line that already featured veteran ends Joe Jackson and Jonathan Garvin.
But Rousseau’s season ended two games into his freshman season when he fractured his ankle early in Miami’s blowout win over Savannah State. It was the first serious injury Rousseau had to deal with during his football career and being away from the game took its toll on him.
“I was shook. I was mad for a little bit, but I got over it. I know everything happens for a reason, but it was tough at first,” Rousseau said. “My family helped and my closest teammates, just being with them and doing regular things like going out to eat, that made me feel like I was still part of the team. It’s like Coach [Manny] Diaz would say, sometimes you feel like the team is a train and when you get hurt, you feel like you were just left behind and the train kept going. …
“It hurt sometimes, but I realized God doesn’t make mistakes and everything happens for a reason. So I just worked hard in rehab. We have a great rehab staff. And [Director of Strength & Conditioning David] Feeley helped me out a lot, with my ankle flexibility and all of that. So, I was blessed.”
While sidelined, Rousseau tried to make the most of his time as an interested observer by studying how Jackson, Garvin and former Hurricanes defensive tackle Gerald Willis III all prepared for games and watching how their work translated on the field.
Rousseau’s work with Feeley and Miami’s athletic training staff, he said, prepared him to return to action and when he did, again, it didn’t take long for the end to make an impact.
Against Virginia in his first start as a Hurricane on Oct. 11, Rousseau had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Against Florida State, he had a career-high five tackles for loss and four sacks, a performance that earned him Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors, as well as ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week recognition.
He finished the regular season tied for second in the nation with 14 sacks, behind only Ohio State’s Chase Young. His 18 tackles for loss tied him for 10th in the nation and Rousseau will head into Miami’s bowl game needing just three sacks to tie the single-season record held by former Hurricanes defensive end Daniel Stubbs.
All of that is impressive, but Rousseau isn’t about to rest on his accomplishments.
He’s determined to continue giving the Hurricanes his best and make sure he’s one day remembered among the great defensive linemen that have played at Miami.
“It’s meant everything to play here when you think about the dudes that have come through this program, like Warren Sapp, Calais Campbell and Vince Wilfork,” Rousseau said. “It’s really a blessing just to even be here at all. And to just add to that legacy, I’m really grateful for that.”