Roseboro Focused On His Final Game In A Wolfpack Uniform

NC State senior defensive end Darian Roseboro flirted with entering the NFL draft after the 2017 season, but he chose to return to Raleigh for his senior year.  Entering the season with high expectations, Roseboro probably didn’t have the breakout year he expected to have, totaling 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack.

However, NC State had a better overall year, finishing 9-3 in the regular season -- and perhaps even left a win or two on the table.  For Roseboro, he isn’t looking back at the decision he made or the close losses.

“I’m not one of those people who looks back and regrets anything,” Roseboro said.  “I always look at it positively and how we’ve changed the program as a whole and established ourselves as one of the elite programs.

“I don’t want to look back on losses because at the end of the day I’m proud of the team and coaches.”

A heralded recruit in the Wolfpack’s 2015 class, Roseboro’s mindset has seemed to shift over the years.  Early in his career he probably focused a little too much on his own individual success.  However, as he has matured in college he clearly became a guy who valued team accomplishments and the bigger picture for the program.  

“I believe it was a process,” Roseboro stated.  “I came in and we’ve come a long way and the way the seniors have been able to finish, it’s been good.  We’ve progressed every year. If you look back from when I first got here, the improvement to now says a lot about the program.

“For me, I’ve matured as a man and as a player.  I’ve learned so much from the coaches, and I was able to become a mentor for some of our younger linemen which is big.”

Now Roseboro will end his Wolfpack career facing SEC foe Texas A&M in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.  He is one of just three seniors starting for the Wolfpack defense.  It would have been four, but All-ACC linebacker Germaine Pratt – along with junior star wide receiver Kelvin Harmon – won’t be playing on Monday.

Roseboro believes the Wolfpack’s approach to not having Pratt and Harmon will be simple.

“Next man up,” he said.  “They’re great players and deserve everything they’re getting. At the end of the day, the program goes on and the next player has to step up and be able to do their job.

“We’re not asking any more of anybody than to do their job and get credit for it.”

Few expect NC State to win this bowl game without Harmon and Pratt, but you get the sense from talking to Roseboro that the team has a different feeling.

“It comes down to us,” Roseboro said.  “We don’t really think about what people say outside. We know what we can do and we know we have to do it. No excuses.”