Former South Carolina WR Shaq Roland not turning pro family says
Shaq Roland, a former South Carolina junior wide receiver who left the team this week, will not forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, according to a source close to his family.
Per the source, the plan is for Roland to play elsewhere next season while finishing his education. Saturday Down South has learned that Roland is eyeing several Division II institutions in the Southeast.
“The pro thing wasn’t even considered, it was a suggestion from someone else,” the family source told SDS in a phone interview on Wednesday. “He wants to continue playing and he plans on completing his degree. We don’t know where all that pro stuff came from. There have been a lot of things misreported.”
On Tuesday, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier confirmed Roland’s recent exit and said he thought he was turning pro.
“Shaq Roland is not with the team anymore,” Spurrier said after stepping off the plane in Shreveport, La. in prep for Saturday’s Independence Bowl. “I think he’s elected to drop out of school and go pro. That was his choice and we wish him the best.”
Roland signed with the Gamecocks as a four-star prospect out of Lexington High School in 2011 as South Carolina’s Mr. Football. In three seasons at Carolina he caught 56 passes for 891 yards and 10 touchdowns, but suffered from inconsistent play and several instances of miscommunication with the coaching staff.
He was nearly dismissed from the team in October after failing to make the trip to Lexington for the Gamecocks’ matchup with Kentucky.
“When he first got there, Shaq was on a high pedestal with high expectations and when he didn’t deliver, the (coaching staff) kind of threw him away,” the family source said. “I was telling Shaq, he has to take responsibility for how things went also. The negative stuff that came out in the paper, was beyond his control. He has some growing up to do.
“I don’t know if (Shaq) and the coaches were ever on the same page. Here at the end, things that were going on, he had a hard time dealing with it. He didn’t take rejection well and that has affected his performance on and off the field.”