Jordan, Roche join 2 first-rounders selected
For the University of Miami, the NFL Draft started with a roar, continued with a whimper and ended with a celebratory sigh of relief.
The Canes finished the three-day, seven-round event with four players drafted, including Saturday’s picks: tight end Brevin Jordan, the third pick of the fifth round (147th overall) and defensive end Quincy Roche, the 32nd pick of the sixth round (216th overall).
The other two UM players chosen in Thursday night’s opening round: defensive end Jaelan Phillips heading to the Miami Dolphins at No. 18 overall and defensive end Greg Rousseau going to the Buffalo Bills at No. 30.
The only eligible UM player not drafted was placekicker Jose Borregales, a consensus All-American and winner of the Lou Groza Award as the top kicker in college football. He posted shortly after the draft ended that he signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent.
The lone kicker drafted Saturday, two spots below Jordan, was Evan McPherson of the Florida Gators.
BREVIN JORDAN
Jordan, 21, rarely failed to entertain as a UM player.
One minute he was the 6-2 1⁄2, 250-pound tight end who could dazzle with his on-field artistry while dragging defenders down the field with him. Another minute he was the most outspoken, often wildly fun, always exuberant media delight as an offthe-field interviewee.
But on Saturday, he had to be unusually nervous — until Houston finally made their selection.
Eight teams drafted tight ends ahead of him. At one time, Jordan was projected to go as high as the second round.
“God is good all the time,’’ Jordan tweeted just past 11:30 p.m. Friday as the second day of the draft was nearing its end. “Even in the midst of question, he’s good all the time.’’ An emoji of praying hands accompanied the message.
Jordan’s next tweet soon after he was drafted: HOUSTON ... let’s work!
Jordan, who declared for the draft after three seasons with Miami, arrived in Coral Gables from his hometown of Las Vegas in 2018 as 247Sports’ and ESPN’s No. 1 tight end in the nation (and Rivals.com’s No. 2). He ended the 2020 season as UM’s second leading receiver with 38 catches for 576 yards (15.2 yards a catch) and seven touchdowns in only eight games. Pro Football Focus had Jordan the tight end with the most yards after catch this season: 353.
In 2019, Jordan was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award that goes to the nation’s finest tight end. He was UM’s secondleading pass-catcher in receiving yards, with 495 yards on 35 catches and two touchdowns in 10 games.
The biggest concern about Jordan had been keeping him healthy. A foot injury in early November 2019 eventually required offseason surgery. This season, he missed three games after an apparent right shoulder injury in the second half of the UM loss to then-No. 1 Clemson on Oct. 10.
“Anybody who doubts my Miami career or doubts my love for the U, I put my blood, sweat and tears into this university,’’ Jordan said March 29 on UM Pro Day. “... I love this school. Anybody that tries to doubt me, tries to say anything because of my injury history, [in] football... you’re 100-percent guaranteed to suffer some type of injuries.”
QUINCY ROCHE
Roche, 23, came to UM in early 2020 as a Temple graduate transfer who was the 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2019, his final season at Temple, he finished with 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks (tied for seventh most in the country).
At one point last season, Roche was the FBS active sacks leader with 28 1⁄2, but fell down the list to No. 19 with 30 1⁄ by the
2 end of the season, tied with 2020 overall No. 2 draft choice (Washington) Chase Young of Ohio
State (three seasons) and Trevardo Williams (four seasons) of Connecticut.
With Phillips on the opposite side, Roche, from Randallstown, Maryland, ended his 2020 season with 45 tackles, including 14 1⁄ tackles for loss and 4
2
1⁄ sacks.
2
He tied for the ACC lead with three forced fumbles and had two fumble recoveries.
“He’s a workaholic and smart,’’ Rousseau said of Roche. “His football IQ is really high. Great guy.’’
After he was drafted, the obviously ecstatic Roche posted one long hashtag on Twitter that said it all: “#SteelersNation!!!”
Susan Miller Degnan: 305-376-3366, @smillerdegnan