Former FSU Star Myron Rolle Deserves Extra Praise For Off Field Victory

Myron Rolle, who was one of the best scholar athletes in FSU history, just had a major victory in his future as a doctor – and we all should be proud.

Earlier this week, Chop Chat as well as hundreds of other outlets reported the great news from a former FSU football player that had nothing to do with the pigskin. Myron Rolle, who spent three seasons in the secondary for the Seminoles, found out where he would be completing his neurosurgery residency after gradating from the school’s college of medicine:

Over the 70 seasons that Florida State has fielded a football team, there have been plenty of great players on the field and in the classroom – as well as plenty who could fit into both categories. If there was a picture in the dictionary next to the term “student athlete”, it would be one of the former safety who has made all ‘Noles fans proud and should be praised as a true Seminole great.

Let’s just recap Rolle’s timeline: after being one of the top football recruits in the country while gradating from a prestigious New Jersey prep school, Rolle CHOSE to attend FSU for the combination of its football tradition and upstart medical program. After graduating in just two and a half years with a 3.75 GPA, Rolle put football on the back burner after being selected a Rhodes Scholar.

Florida State Seminoles Football

It was a decision that many feel cost him a long term career in the NFL. You see, for as much as the league talks about wanting people with character, Rolle’s decision to further his academic career and be a positive role model was not what some teams and coaches wanted – maybe if he had been caught on tape beating his girlfriend or been arrested multiple times, then maybe he would have gotten a shot in this current league.

Needless to say, Rolle would be drafted and play two seasons with Tennessee before being cut in 2012 off the preseason roster in Pittsburgh. That’s where Rolle became someone FSU fans should be proud of – he returned to the school to get his medical degree before being sent to one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country to start his career.

He didn’t win awards or championships or lead the team in tackles or interceptions, but Myron Rolle did more than that during his time at FSU: he has made us proud for all that he has done both as a player and – more importantly – as a person.

So, the next time you are talking about all the great Seminoles of all time, make sure you mention the name Myron Rolle and remind people of what a true winner – both on AND off the field – looks like.