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Player goes where he's most wanted
By MIKE READLING, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- When you're as committed to someone as much as the Naval Academy was to Sickles offensive lineman Ryan Roeling, the decision is easy. Roeling chose to play football for the Midshipmen next year -- canceling a trip to the University of Virginia and turning down a scholarship in the process -- despite taking only one visit to Annapolis in the dead of winter. All it took was a little commitment to the 6 foot 4, 282-pounder. "I know that Tulane and Vanderbilt had me as the No. 2 lineman that they were recruiting," Roeling said. "When I went up to Navy and talked to coach Paul Johnson he sat me down and told me how much they liked me and if I wanted to I could walk across the hall and look at their recruiting lists. "He said, "There isn't a No. 2 next to your name.' I was the top offensive lineman they were recruiting. That was all I had to hear. I was on Cloud Nine the whole time I was up there." Of course, if you're a coach at Navy the choice to make that commitment to the Gryphons student government president was an easy one. Roeling is the son a former defensive lineman at Tulane, so he has the football lineage. He earned the respect of both the players and the coaches at Sickles, being voted as the team captain by both sides before the season. And then there's his dedication to making not only himself better but also improving his team. Last summer Roeling traveled to Kurt Hester's Strength and Speed Camp in Louisiana, spending a month training with some of the top football teams in the state and the man who was the strength and conditioning coach for Louisiana State University's 1996 and 1997 National Championship baseball teams. When he returned to Tampa, Roeling had added 35 pounds to his bench press and taken two-tenths of a second off his time in the 40-yard dash. He now runs the 40 in 5.19 seconds and can bench press 350 pounds. He also boasts a 490-pound dead lift and can squat 520 pounds. "He came back and walked in the door it was, "Wow, look who's back,' " Sickles coach Pat O'Brien said. "But it wasn't just the weights, it was the whole attitude about the game of football and being around other programs that were so successful. It was kind of like a college atmosphere and he tried to bring some of that back with him to get his teammates thinking in that team concept. "I think we had more team-oriented feelings because of what Ryan and the other seniors did for our team." The Gryphons finished the year 1-9, meaning in the three years Roeling played varsity full time he was a part of three wins. Despite that, he said he feels like this season marked the "beginning of a tradition" at Sickles. He'll go from the beginning of what Sickles hopes will turn into something special to one of the oldest traditions in college football. And he'll get the chance to help turn around a football team while he's doing it -- the Midshipmen finished 0-10 last year and recently hired Johnson as head coach. "We were 1-9 this year, and I'm not going to ever go through that again. Ever," Roeling said. "They say you get better by facing adversity, well, I've faced enough of it. I want to go turn this thing around. I'm chomping at the bit to get up there." Roeling feels good about the possibility of that turnaround coming soon because Johnson is known as an offensive coach and his offense revolves around the center, quarterback and fullback. With Roeling signed up as center, the other two signees Navy got on Feb. 6 were their top quarterback and fullback recruits. Of course, Roeling will have to deal with more than just football practice as a freshman, or plebe as they're known in Annapolis. First, there's the nine months of military training. Then there's the traditional instilling of discipline by the upperclassmen and establishing of a hierarchy for his entire freshman year. "Plebe year, it's hell from what I hear, but I'm looking forward to it," Roeling said. "Basically, you go from being the top dog in high school as a senior to a pup. You get picked on, razzed on all by upper classmen. You just have to put up with it, it's little stuff. But if you respect your elders, you will be fine."
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