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FSU's Rolle Bids For Rhodes Scholarship

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By STEVE ELLIS

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: November 22, 2008

Updated: 11/22/2008 12:26 am

The pass from Boston College quarterback Chris Crane was incomplete. But as the ball sailed out of bounds, Florida State defender Myron Rolle found himself on the Eagles' sideline and face to face with Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski.

Jagodzinski shook Rolle's hand in a gesture that speaks to the importance so many people place on what the FSU safety is hoping to accomplish today.

During an era of college football programs routinely grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons - including FSU's football program, tarnished by an academic-cheating scandal - Rolle will interview today for a Rhodes Scholarship in Birmingham, Ala. Following the announcement of the recipients, he'll catch a ride on a private plane to participate in what is left of FSU's football game at Maryland.

Whether Rolle becomes FSU's third Rhodes Scholar in four years is almost a side note to being a finalist. Rolle became acutely aware of that on the Boston College sideline last Saturday.

"Coach Jag shook my hand and said, 'Myron, what you are doing in pursuing the Rhodes Scholar and your academics is great. I really want to congratulate you. Best of luck. It's a great thing you are doing.'

"This is at the end of the play. I'm on his sideline. I just smiled and said, 'Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.'"

It might have seemed an unusual gesture in the middle of a game with ACC championship game implications. But not to Jagodzinski.

"Being a Rhodes Scholar is pretty important," Jagodzinski said. "I don't believe I've ever met one."

Rolle is not one yet. That will be determined after a Rhodes Scholarship Committee conducts 20-minute interviews with 13 finalists and names two winners by 6 p.m. - with Rolle trying to make a game that starts at 7:45 p.m. in Maryland. Birmingham is one of 16 sites nationwide conducting Rhodes Scholarship interviews today, with 32 students receiving the prestigious honor.

The scholarship would allow Rolle to attend Oxford University in pursuit of his master's degree in medical anthropology, although it is not clear whether he would select that option over an NFL career. As a junior he is eligible for the April draft.

As Jagodzinski's gesture underscored, Rolle's pursuit of a Rhode Scholarship has made an impression on the nation. Rolle sees it as an opportunity to tackle the stereotypes of college athletics.

"That stereotype is we are more concerned with our sport and partying and things that aren't related to academics," he said. "So I'm very happy I can be an example for other fine student-athletes around the country who are doing just as well as I am or better and an example for young kids who can see a future as a big-time football player as a Rhodes Scholar or as a doctor or whatever you want to be."

Perfect Timing

FSU President T. K. Wetherell recalls an FSU student just a semester or two into his first year stopping by his office to apologize for making a B grade in one of his classes. It was Rolle.

"I told Myron, 'I promise you son, you don't have to apologize for making a B,' and it was something like organic chemistry. He is trying to do better, which I guess that is part of the football training to get better everyday no matter what.

"Try to play football at the level he is playing at with that much visibility and being a pre-med major, that's a pretty tough sled right there."

Football players such as Rolle and FSU quarterback Christian Ponder, who both enrolled in January 2006 and earned their undergraduate degrees in August, have found themselves to be on the flip side of an academic misconduct case involving 61 student-athletes - not to mention a campus fight last week that led to the suspension of five wide receivers.

The bright light on Rolle leading into today is viewed as something positive, although Wetherell doesn't want Rolle to feel it's a burden.

There was some uncertainty earlier in the process whether Rolle would interview for the scholarship if it meant missing part of the game. But he said it's too important to pass on. His teammates and coaches agree.

"As a team we really hope he wins it," Ponder said. "As a team we're fine with it. It's his dream.

"There has been so much negativity portrayed about this program. It shows the nation what happened lately is not what we're about."

Sparkling Resume

Rolle's goal is to become a doctor and establish clinics in impoverished nations. His accomplishments and deeds include an undergraduate degree before he entered his third fall semester, a 2008 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Award for his grant-funded study of human stem cells and developing a health/nutrition program for Seminole Indian youth.

Tampa Baptist graduate Garrett Johnson, an All-American shot putter at FSU who was named a Rhodes Scholar in November 2005, sees Rolle as the ideal candidate.

"Myron has the intellectual vigor but also the physical vigor to take on the work's fight that can be interpreted in many different ways," Johnson said. "He really does personify and embody all the qualities that the panel will look for."

FSU's other recent Rhodes Scholar, Joe O'Shea, also has been helping Rolle prepare for today's session.

Rolle's preparation goes beyond the mock interviews. He reads the New York Times each day and visits Web sites dedicated to health care and medical issues. CNN and any channel with a large heaping of current events fill his television screen.

"When I'm not doing mock interviews, when I'm not meeting with Garrett Johnson, I spend a lot of time preparing on my own," Rolle said. "I want to be as prepared as possible so when I go up to interview I'm comfortable with every question.

He will travel the 300 miles to Birmingham with a support group in tow. Jamie Purcell of FSU's Office of National Fellowships - she gets credit for initiating the Rhodes Scholarship process - and School of Nursing professor Sally Karioth will make the trip with him.

"She is actually going to Birmingham with me to help keep me sane," Rolle said. "She's a great person to have in my corner. She's been a great advisor and great facilitator of the things I've accomplished."

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