After switching from TE to DE, AJ Rollins feels like he can be himself on Nebraska’s defense
Nebraska athlete AJ Rollins wasn’t surprised.
Husker Head Coach Matt Rhule asked the tight end if he wanted to try out defensive end as well. He told Rollins that he sees a future for him on defense. It didn’t shock the 6-foot-6, 220-pound tight end because he played defense at Creighton Prep High School in Omaha, Neb.
But also, he trusts Rhule’s evaluation.
“Coach Rhule knows what he’s talking about,” he said. “I played defense in high school already so it’s not anything super new. I still have the natural ability to do it.”
Rollins wore a gray jersey for several practices to indicate that he was working on both sides of the ball. After a while, he noticed he was better on defense and talked to defensive coordinator Tony White about making that his primary position.
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White confirmed the switch was Rhule’s idea and said the head coach is always tuned into what’s happening at practice.
“He’s really observant to everything – sideline, players – everything, constantly talking about the roster and where he sees guys and athleticism and everything,” White said. “He mentioned one day, he’s like “Hey, try (Rollins) over there and lo and behold he’s pinching through there and making tackles for a loss with a smile on his face. That’s the best thing.”
He is still willing and able to play tight end if Nebraska needs him. In his two seasons at tight end, Rollins didn’t record a catch but played in seven games.
For now, White really likes him on the defense and so does Rollins.
“That dude’s a baller,” White said. “He’s doing what’s asked. He’s been over there for, I don’t know, maybe a week now and all of the sudden he’s making plays. You’re seeing him constantly show up around the ball which is really cool, really fun to watch. Then you see him with a smile on his face. That’s one of those things where guys are moving positions and now all of the sudden he’s making plays for you and we’ll go from there.”
Being himself on defense
Rollins played both sides of the ball in high school. While teams recruited him in high school, Nebraska was the only school that mentioned him playing defense. However, when he arrived in Lincoln, former tight end coach Sean Beckton took Rollins into his room.
The skills he learned at Creighton Prep and from Beckton and current TE coach Bob Wager have served him well on the Huskers’ defense.
At Creighton Prep, defensive line coach Ted Hennings was big on fundamentals, Rollins said.
“I really never lost that,” he said. “And Coach Beck at tight end last year was really good at fundamental stuff too. So I had coach Beck and coach Hennings at Creighton Prep and so really focus on in between the blocking and the defense stuff.”
Hennings’ lessons stuck with Rollins for the long run and he said he is still able to do those things now.
In his short time as Rollins’ coach, Wager helped him hone blocking fundamentals that translate to the defense.
“Coach Wager did a good job with that, striking my hands because we’re really focused on hands on offense and getting off the ball,” Rollins said. “So with coach Wager and switching to defense, my hands have been good. That’s really helped me a lot because the defense is really about hands on the defensive line. The better your hands are, the better you get off and the better you separate the blocks.”
The sophomore said the biggest change in his defensive end position now is that the college level is much more physical than high school. He said in high school, he could get away with small things or not playing hard sometimes.
However in college, “you have to play hard,” he said.
Rollins feels very comfortable at defensive end despite what he still has to learn to play the position well at the next level.
“I just feel like I’m able to be myself on the defense,” Rollins said. “I’m having a lot of fun and just going out and reacting to the ball. They don’t ask much of me right now. They just want me to continue to play like myself and just wanted to play fast so I’m having fun.”
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