Rakeem Nunez-Roches

A two-star defensive tackle recruit out of high school, Nunez-Roches picked up steam throughout the recruitment process, choosing to attend Southern Miss over offers from Arkansas, Wisconsin and Memphis. He played sparingly in six games as a true freshman and recorded two tackles. Nunez-Roches became a starter in 2012 (11 starts), recording 37 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack, earning All-CUSA Honorable Mention honors. He started the first two games of 2013 before an injury ended his season, taking a medical redshirt. Nunez-Roches returned healthy in 2014 and started 11 games, finishing with 58 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks, earning First Team All-CUSA honors. He chose to skip his senior season to enter the 2015 NFL Draft.

heady player to pick up screens and recognize offensive tendencies...flashes a finishing motor, always sticking his nose in the fire...played a high volume of snaps and was the playmaker of the defense...productive starter and finished among the conference leaders with 14.0 tackles for loss in 2014 - tallied two blocked kicks on special teams...self-starter with a driven, survivor mentality - was homeless at certain points of his life and now holds fundraisers to help those less fortunate...high character, well-mannered individual with core moral values - has developed a passion for football.

WEAKNESSES

born and raised in dangriga, belize, nunez-roches, who speaks english and garifuna and is the grandson of a former three-term mayor in belize, arrived in the united states with his mother in 2000 and they traveled across the country, living out of their car at times, before setting in alabama for his high school years. he picked up football and developed into southern miss' top defensive player, playing primarily the one- and zero-technique positions.

Nunez-Roches is a quick-footed penetrator who is at his best shooting gaps or using his quick extension to attack and drive blockers backwards. He has a unique perspective and the coaches say his optimistic attitude, on football and life, rubs off on his teammates and everyone he meets. Nunez-Roches needs coached up to groom the technical side of his game, but the raw tools and motivated attitude are there for him to develop into a disruptive role player in the NFL and eventual starter, possibly as soon as his rookie season.

strengths

Adequate size and length for the position with packed-on muscle...quick off the snap to shoot games, showing improved pre-snap reads and anticipation...rangy player with lateral quickness to make stops in pursuit, downfield and outside the hashes...moves well for his size and a regular visitor in the backfield...natural knee bend, body control and leverage to anchor at the point of attack...stays square and finds the ball quickly - not a coincidence that he's always around the ball.

needs to continue and develop his functional strength...extends well off the snap to shoot his hands, but needs to do it consistently - lacks shock in his punch...needs to keep his eyes elevated and improve his discipline...bad habit of using his shoulder to initiate contact, allowing his body to get turned...still raw in areas and needs to play more technically-sound - needs repetition and hard coaching...needs to play smarter and eliminate the unnecessary penalties - too many roughing and late hits on his resume...durability needs investigated after a knee injury (sept. 2013) that ended his junior season.

IN OUR VIEW

Three-star defensive lineman by ESPN, as well as earning two stars from both Rivals.com and Scout.com

Played for coach Woodrow Lowe at Central (Ala.) High School

Picked Second-Team All-Area by the Opelika-Auburn News and was an Alabama Top 50 player, ranking No. 39, by the Tuscaloosa News

Helped team finish 9-2 in 2010 and captured the Region 3 6A Championship

Tallied 132 career tackles to go along with 17 sacks and four forced fumbles

Also played basketball and baseball

Earned All-State accolades in basketball and voted best pitcher in baseball.

Full name is Rakeem Nathan Nunez-Roches

Son of Nancy Nunez

Has a brother, Raul Roches, and two sisters Reesheda and Rashada

Born on July 3, 1993 in Dangriga, Belize

Majoring in biological sciences.