Ron Dawczak struggled to pinpoint what he was missing as he watched the film on his screen in 2021.

Dawczak had seen his plenty of film as a high school football coach over the years. At Marist, Dawczak had seen plenty of NCAA Division I talent in the ESCC and CCL/ESCC. He thought he knew what good tape looked like.

It’s what Dawczak thought he saw when he watched linebacker Jimmy Rolder’s tape heading into and during his senior season. But unlike other high school players who went on to play high-level college football, Rolder received only one scholarship offer to play collegiate football.

“I’ve got a kid here that’s 6-foot-2½ or 6-foot-3, 225 pounds at the time that could run like the wind and was just a phenomenal athlete and he didn’t have an opportunity ...” Dawczak, who was the head coach at Marist from 2017 to 2023, said. “I would go up and look at Hudl films of players from the area whose names I knew and compared their film to Jimmy’s. Jimmy’s film, in my eyes, was better than a lot of kids that had played Division I football at major programs.”

Dawczak tried to understand what he was missing. He spoke with countless college coaches and sent them the film looking for an answer.

They didn’t bite. Instead, they told him they’d continue to monitor Rolder.

Nearly five years later, Dawczak’s eye for talent will be proven right this weekend. After spending four seasons at Michigan and leading the Wolverines in tackles last season, Rolder will have a chance to be selected in the NFL draft in Pittsburgh this weekend.

It’s an opportunity that almost didn’t happen. A career in baseball seemed more in Rolder’s future than football. But a hectic three-week span during Rolder’s senior season changed the trajectory of his life.

“It’s just surreal,” Rolder said. “Obviously the NFL has been my dream. Since it’s right here in front of me, it just doesn’t feel real yet.”

‘Pushing for football’

Scott Kehoe first got a glimpse of Rolder’s potential from a young age.

Kehoe, Rolder’s stepfather who played offensive tackle at Illinois and spent a year in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, started coaching Rolder at around 8 or 9 years old when he played Pop Warner in Orland Park. Even at the beginning, the way Rolder approached football stood out to Kehoe.

“He had all the tools, the ability to bend his knees and run through people and all that type of stuff,” Kehoe said. “So I had confidence.”

Rolder seemed destined for a career playing professional football. His favorite player growing up was Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher. Any time Rolder wrote who he wanted to be as an adult, it was an NFL player.

But the national attention didn’t come for his football play early on at Marist. Colleges noticed Rolder for his play on the baseball diamond after his freshman season and that interest intensified over the next few years.

Rolder stood out at third base with his quick lateral movement from playing linebacker and his strong arm. But Rolder’s talent at the plate caught the attention of many college and professional scouts.

“He was definitely on some pro radars and had a good arm,” Marist baseball coach Kevin Sefcik said. “It was good power. ... He had some pop in his bat, so he definitely was a guy that was on people’s radar as far as even beyond college baseball.”

The same interest didn’t follow in football.

Rolder moved up to the varsity roster as a sophomore during the RedHawks playoff run in 2019 and Dawczak quickly realized how special he was. Rolder played in a nickel package as an outside linebacker. The coaching staff quickly noticed how Rolder could bend around the corner and maintain his speed, something NFL scouts look for in prospects.

Dawczak couldn’t wait to see what Rolder could do as a junior. But then everything stopped.

The COVID-19 pandemic paused the world at the beginning of 2020. The IHSA cancelled all spring sports that year and after a long, passionate debate, moved the football season to the spring of 2021. Marist finished 4-2 and Rolder did impress in his first varsity season. But Rolder didn’t get as much attention during a critical year of football recruiting.

Heading into his senior season, Rolder wasn’t sure if he’d play football collegiately. He held one football offer to play at Ball State. But Rolder had committed to play baseball at Illinois at the end of his sophomore season since he wasn’t sure what would happen next during the pandemic.

Rolder didn’t give up on his dream of playing football. Even as he traveled to baseball tournaments, he told Kehoe that he’d find a way to earn a Power Five offer.

“I wasn’t really sure if football was going to pan out,” Rolder recalled. “I didn’t even know if I was going to play football again in high school. So for me, it was like an option to fall back on, in case football didn’t work out. During that time, I loved baseball and I just felt like I might as well do it. If football happens, it happens. I was always going to keep pushing for football.”

A surreal three weeks

Laura Kehoe couldn’t figure out why she was inside the Illinois football recruiting room in October of 2021.

She had come down to Champaign with Rolder, her son, and Scott for a small visit to Illinois before it took on Wisconsin. Illinois had shown some interest in Jimmy. But the room was full with other recruits and it felt like Jimmy would fall under the radar once again.

“I was just like, why are we here?” Laura said. “There were probably hundreds of kids. It was packed.”

Rolder had dedicated his summer leading up to his senior year to earning a Power Five offer. He trained and attended different camps, including ones at Penn State and Northwestern, in order to get more attention from college coaches.

The hard work translated to results on the field. Marist ran out to a 4-1 start to the season behind Rolder’s dominant play at linebacker. But the offers still didn’t come.

Scott, like Dawczak, couldn’t figure out what he was missing. He reached out to longtime national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming to find out what everyone was missing. Once Lemming watched the film, the answer was clear.

“He said, ‘Oh God, he’s definitely got it,’” Scott recalled. Lemming sent out Rolder’s tape to colleges and coaches became interested.

Back at Illinois, Laura had gone to the bathroom with the expectation that this visit would go like the others had in the past. But when she returned, Rolder told her they had to go upstairs. Illinois head coach Brett Bielema wanted to meet with them in his office.

Less than a couple hours before the Illini were set to kick off against the Badgers, Bielema finally rewarded Rolder. Illinois offered him his first Power Five scholarship to play football.

“It was just a surreal moment,” Rolder said. “It was just like my dreams unfolding in front of me, really the opportunity to go play football at the next level, everything I was working for that whole season. It was just happening in real time.”

What ensued was the most hectic three weeks of Rolder’s life and one of the most unique recruiting battles many coaches can remember.

Minnesota offered the next day. Michigan came in a few days later after then-head coach John Harbaugh got his hands on Rolder’s tape from a friend of Scott’s. Major programs like Ohio State, LSU, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin each followed suit.

Rolder balanced the swell of sudden interest as he led Marist to the Class 8A state semifinals. He fit in campus visits during off days when he wasn’t on the field. He constantly talked to coaches on the phone, including to and from games.

Finally on Nov. 16, he made the decision that didn’t seem likely just a couple months before. Rolder committed to play football at Michigan.

“It’s weird,” Rolder said of the process. “I haven’t reflected on too much, but it is weird thinking back that this happened so quickly. Maybe it wasn’t like it came out of nowhere. But yeah, it’s a weird spot because football is always what I wanted to do and I was in such a groove that senior year. So when I hung up the baseball cleats, it definitely was a little weird. But I think I definitely made the right choice there.”

Biding his time

Brian Jean-Mary was excited to join the Michigan coaching staff as a linebackers coach/run game coordinator in 2024 for many reasons.

Rolder was a big one.

Jean-May was familiar with Rolder’s unique talent. He had recruited Rolder during those three weeks as the linebackers coach at Tennessee. While Jean-May couldn’t wait to work with Rolder, he also had a little bit of revenge on his mind.

“He didn’t pay us any mind,” joked Jean-May, who’s currently the linebackers/run game coordinator at Notre Dame. “He never even gave me a second thought when I tried to reach out to him. I was going to make it hard for him that first spring I was there because I felt like he kind of overlooked me as a coach at Tennessee.”

Jean-May was excited to coach Rolder because he had a unique skillset. At just over 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, Rolder was built like an old-school middle linebacker. But Roler ran like a new-school weakside linebacker who can go sideline-to-sideline.

“That’s rare in today’s football for a guy that can do both,” Jean-May said.

Rolder began his first three seasons at Michigan in a more reserved role as he battled injuries and starters who would eventually be drafted into the NFL. He played in 31 games mostly as a backup and on special teams and helped the Wolverines win the national championship in the 2023 season.

Jean-May and the Wolverines coaching staff felt Rolder could make a big jump heading into the 2025 season. He wasn’t going to start from the first game. But they believed Rolder could become a difference maker if he played up to his potential.

To prepare, Rolder did everything he could inside and outside Michigan’s facilities to prepare his body. Red light therapy. Cryotherapy. Intravenous therapy. Training room visits before and after practices and on off days. All of it.

The investment paid off. Rolder became a starter and developed into a dependable playmaker. He had the best year of his career and led Michigan with 73 tackles to go along with seven tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception.

He started 11 of the 12 games he played last year and earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

“I always knew I could do it and I knew in the back of my mind that I was in the right spot in here for a reason,” Rolder said. “So, yeah, it was just awesome being able to prove to everyone else and myself that I could do it at a high level.”

‘An awesome moment’

At the end of the 2025 season, Rolder had to make a decision. Did he want to declare for the NFL draft or come back for one last season with Michigan?

It’s become a difficult choice for many prospects in the era of the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness deals. Michigan and other schools were interested in Rolder and could’ve offered to pay him enough to stay around in the college game for another season.

But with such a close chance to realize his dreams of playing in the NFL, Rolder couldn’t pass on the opportunity.

“It was a tough decision,” Rolder said. “At the end of the season, I just had to sit down with all my mentors, my family, the coaches and really just gather all the opinions possible before making the decision. Then at the end of the day, I just decided to make the decision to declare and am very glad that I did that.”

Most analysts expect Rolder to be selected at some point this weekend. Many project Rolder to be taken in the fourth or fifth round. Some believe he can become a player who could begin as a backup but develop into a dependable starter.

Rolder will be an interesting prospect for teams. Although he’s started 11 games over four seasons, Rolder proved that he can be a versatile linebacker. He can play up the middle or in packages coming off the edge.

“I think what separates him is he’s a bigger guy who can also play in space,” Jean-May said. “He’s not foreign to lining up outside on a tight end and making tackles in space. That’s what the NFL game is now and he’s showing that he can do at a high level.”

Rolder will be grateful wherever he’s selected this weekend. He’s planning on spending the weekend with his family in Florida waiting to hear his name called.

Rolder hasn’t really considered how close he was to not realizing this moment had it not been for a hectic three-week span during his senior season. But he’s grateful someone found his value on tape and that he’ll have a chance to live out his dream of playing in the NFL.

“I think it’s just gonna be an awesome moment, just there with the people who got me to the point,” Rolder said. “It’s just going to be exciting and just going to be fun.”