Coming out of high school in Connecticut, Kevin Roche Jr was a star player at Darien High School. He was a top 10 player in his state and was a mismatch for opposing defenses with his height and size. At 6’8 and 250 pounds defenses didn’t have an answer for him. It was more like he was just outrebounding smaller guards and players. With Roche, it wasn’t just height; he was a superior athlete and even played lacrosse in high school.
Coming into college, he was still a little bit raw and had to work on some things coming in as a true freshman, like putting on weight, learning the scheme and system and fine-tuning his game. Roche came in and took it seriously after redshirting his freshman season. He is now making some noise and turning heads in the spring. It is looking very likely that he will be able to find a role on offense in 2026. His tight ends coach, Nathan Brock, chimed in.
“Kevin is doing a great job. He’s had a great spring. He has gotten better every single day. And his want to and his effort, his give a s**** factor is through the roof. He loves football. He loves coming out here. I think that he’s doing a great job. Truthfully, like he’s put on some weight, right? He looks good out there. And yeah, you’re right. Like nobody makes six eight, know, 265-pound guys that can run 20 miles an hour, right? So he’s able to help us in a lot of different ways. Really excited to continue seeing the steps he takes and the fall he has,” said Brock…