Roche Drafted by Steelers in Sixth Round

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Quincy Roche was picked in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday, becoming the fourth Hurricane selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Roche, the No. 216 overall selection, joined defensive end Jaelan Phillips (first round, Miami Dolphins), defensive end Gregory Rousseau (first round, Buffalo Bills) and tight end Brevin Jordan (fifth round, Houston Texans) as NFL draftees in 2021.

Roche delivered a standout season in his lone year with the Hurricanes, starting all 10 games at defensive end and finishing with 45 total tackles. Roche had 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks on the year, and ended the season tied for the ACC lead with three forced fumbles.

Roche joined the Hurricanes after a dominant career at Temple, where he won American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his final season.

In three seasons at Temple, Roche had 137 total tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 26 sacks.

Roche became the third Hurricane defensive end taken in 2021, marking only the fourth time in the last 10 years that an FBS program has had three defensive ends taken in a single draft.