When wide receiver Shaq Roland arrived on campus in 2012, the expectations were clear: maintain the standard of winning set by players who’ve come before.
A steep mountain to ask an 18-year-old kid to climb, but it was one that had been scaled by the previous three Mr. Footballs from South Carolina.
Stephon Gilmore (2009), Marcus Lattimore (2010) and Jadeveon Clowney (2011) each won the Palmetto State’s award in high school and chose to enroll at the University of South Carolina. Two of the aforementioned players ended up being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, and all three were key pieces in the program’s most successful run in school history.
Now, it appears that midway through Roland’s ascent, he has given up hope of being the next great Gamecock.
For the second time this season, when South Carolina’s team plane touched down in Shreveport, Louisiana, Roland was nowhere to be found. Head coach Steve Spurrier explained to the media before the Gamecocks’ appearance in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl that Roland was no longer with the team.
“I think he has elected to maybe drop out of school and go pro,” Spurrier said. “That was his choice, and we wish him the best.”
Now it seems as though Roland has elected to shop around for a Division II school where he could finish out his eligibility.
According to a report by Saturday Down South, a source close to Roland’s family said that the wide receiver plans on transferring schools and continuing his pursuit for a degree in African American Studies.
Though what we know to be certain is little, we know that Roland will not be in a South Carolina uniform next season.
Roland, a four-star recruit coming out of high school, played a tumultuous role on an otherwise steady Gamecock squad during his tenure. After landing a three-game suspension due to a violation of team rules, Roland was able to salvage an underwhelming 2013 campaign with a career-high 112 yards on six receptions in the Capital One Bowl.
Roland’s performance in the Capital One Bowl led many to speculate that he was poised for a breakout year in 2014— especially now with a quarterback who would sling the ball around perhaps more than Connor Shaw.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Dylan Thompson passed for a school record 3,564 yards in 2014, but only 356 came by way of Roland. A myriad of miscommunication between Roland and his coaches plagued his senior season, and it wasn’t long before Roland found himself watching the game from outside the stadium again.
After missing the team flight to Lexington, Kentucky, Roland was looking at his fourth missed game in less than a calendar year. He returned the next week, scoring a touchdown against Furman, then another the following week at Auburn. Then, Roland fell off the radar.
He accumulated 56 yards in what will prove to be his four final games as a Gamecock. Roland looked especially lost in South Carolina’s win at Florida and missed a block on what looked like a damaging hit on junior running back Brandon Wilds.
Nearly midway through the season, the writing on the wall became clear to Roland. He was out and sophomore wide receiver Pharoh Cooper was in. A two-game stretch where Cooper caught 18 passes for 360 yards helped cement his place atop the depth chart and kept Roland in Spurrier’s doghouse.
With whatever passing attack South Carolina figures to assemble for the 2015 season centered on Cooper and his athleticism, it is possible that Roland felt that he would get more exposure at a Division II school.
Roland finishes his career at South Carolina with 891 receiving yards over three years. It’s going to take much more than that to get any NFL general manager to take a chance on Roland. And he only has one year to do so.