Spring Spotlight - Roderic Teamer Jr.
Mar 17, 2018 | Football
By Evan Drexler
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Roderic Teamer Jr. remembers wearing the patch with pride.
During the 2015-16 academic year – Teamer's freshman year at Tulane – all Green Wave student-athletes sported a patch to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the city.
As a New Orleans native playing safety for his hometown team, donning that jersey was extra special.
"It's been a great honor," Teamer said. "That meant a lot to me because I've been in New Orleans my whole life. A big part of my recruitment was staying in my hometown and playing here so my family and friends can come watch me play."
Teamer is a senior now, starting his final spring camp with the Green Wave. But four years ago, he was a student who decided to suit up for New Orleans' college team just seven miles from his high school.
Tulane was in his blood. His grandfather Charles C. Teamer worked for the university and is an emeritus member of the Board of Tulane. His aunt attended law school at Tulane, and he has a cousin who is an alum, as well. As a young child, he would sit in on lectures taught by his grandfather.
When the offer to play football for the Green Wave came in, Teamer committed that night.
That commitment hasn't waned. Tulane's coaches and Teamer himself have lofty expectations for his senior season. And after the junior year he put up, there's little doubt as to why.
Teamer posted 48 tackles in 2017, the third-most among Green Wave returners. He started 10 of the team's 12 games at strong safety, and he has the second-most career starts among defensive returners. Teamer also recorded the squad's lone defensive touchdown of the year when he found the end zone on a 52-yard fumble recovery against Navy.
Even as a sophomore he was impressive, finishing fourth on the team with 58 tackles to go along with two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
"He's just a big, physical guy," head coach Willie Fritz said. "He's smart. He's an All-Conference-type guy when he's hitting on all cylinders. We've got to get him doing that consistently, get him in the right spots and I think we're doing that right now. We're looking for a huge senior year out of him."
Part of having a huge senior year will be truly emerging as a leader. With the departure of Parry Nickerson and Jarrod Franklin from the secondary, Teamer and cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr. will be responsible for mentoring the younger players on football and what it means to play in New Orleans.
Teamer realizes other players will be leaning on him this year, and he remembers former Green Wave players Darion Monroe, Nico Marley, Tanzel Smart and Nickerson bringing him along. He hopes to return the favor and also embraces competition for playing time from underclassmen.
"There's more pressure and expectations from the coaches to pull younger guys along so that they can help us," Teamer said. "Some guys don't like younger guys coming in and giving us competition, but I love it. I need it. It pushes me and makes me a better player, so I try to help everybody out."
If it all works out, Teamer hopes his friends and family in New Orleans get one extra game to watch him represent his hometown. What could be sweeter than helping his city's college football team reach a bowl game to cap his career?
"It would mean everything to me," Teamer said. "That's been the goal since we got here, especially after last year being that close to it. It would be great bringing Tulane back to a bowl game."
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Roderic Teamer Jr. remembers wearing the patch with pride.
During the 2015-16 academic year – Teamer's freshman year at Tulane – all Green Wave student-athletes sported a patch to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the city.
As a New Orleans native playing safety for his hometown team, donning that jersey was extra special.
"It's been a great honor," Teamer said. "That meant a lot to me because I've been in New Orleans my whole life. A big part of my recruitment was staying in my hometown and playing here so my family and friends can come watch me play."
Teamer is a senior now, starting his final spring camp with the Green Wave. But four years ago, he was a student who decided to suit up for New Orleans' college team just seven miles from his high school.
Tulane was in his blood. His grandfather Charles C. Teamer worked for the university and is an emeritus member of the Board of Tulane. His aunt attended law school at Tulane, and he has a cousin who is an alum, as well. As a young child, he would sit in on lectures taught by his grandfather.
When the offer to play football for the Green Wave came in, Teamer committed that night.
That commitment hasn't waned. Tulane's coaches and Teamer himself have lofty expectations for his senior season. And after the junior year he put up, there's little doubt as to why.
Teamer posted 48 tackles in 2017, the third-most among Green Wave returners. He started 10 of the team's 12 games at strong safety, and he has the second-most career starts among defensive returners. Teamer also recorded the squad's lone defensive touchdown of the year when he found the end zone on a 52-yard fumble recovery against Navy.
Even as a sophomore he was impressive, finishing fourth on the team with 58 tackles to go along with two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
"He's just a big, physical guy," head coach Willie Fritz said. "He's smart. He's an All-Conference-type guy when he's hitting on all cylinders. We've got to get him doing that consistently, get him in the right spots and I think we're doing that right now. We're looking for a huge senior year out of him."
Part of having a huge senior year will be truly emerging as a leader. With the departure of Parry Nickerson and Jarrod Franklin from the secondary, Teamer and cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr. will be responsible for mentoring the younger players on football and what it means to play in New Orleans.
Teamer realizes other players will be leaning on him this year, and he remembers former Green Wave players Darion Monroe, Nico Marley, Tanzel Smart and Nickerson bringing him along. He hopes to return the favor and also embraces competition for playing time from underclassmen.
"There's more pressure and expectations from the coaches to pull younger guys along so that they can help us," Teamer said. "Some guys don't like younger guys coming in and giving us competition, but I love it. I need it. It pushes me and makes me a better player, so I try to help everybody out."
If it all works out, Teamer hopes his friends and family in New Orleans get one extra game to watch him represent his hometown. What could be sweeter than helping his city's college football team reach a bowl game to cap his career?
"It would mean everything to me," Teamer said. "That's been the goal since we got here, especially after last year being that close to it. It would be great bringing Tulane back to a bowl game."
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