McALESTER — People use some powerful words to describe the play of McAlester linebacker Devin Rolan.
Words like physical, aggressive, violent.
Rolan plays football like a predator — the Apex Predator, according to his Twitter handle.
“My assistant coach started calling me that. He says it's because I eat people,” Rolan said with a laugh.
At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Rolan is a force at the point of contact, and a danger to ball carriers, racking up 113 tackles a year ago. He's No. 8 on The Oklahoman's Super 30 list of the top football recruits in the state.
“Anything in the middle, be ready, because he's gonna bring the hat,” McAlester coach Bryan Pratt said. “He's violent when he arrives.”
It's a quality that Rolan has always built his game around, and now it's paying dividends.
“I've always been very intense,” he said. “You've got to be that way to see the field.
“College coaches saw how physical I was, and I think that really helped me in recruiting.”
Tulsa was the first college on board, offering during his junior season. Indiana offered as well, and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were showing interest. But Rolan felt comfortable at Tulsa, and committed in early June.
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