Strasburg senior Ryan Roller grips the ball as he prepares to go through a practice drill. Roller enjoys playing football for his father, head coach Mark Roller.

Strasburg senior Ryan Roller grips the ball as he prepares to go through a practice drill. Roller enjoys playing football for his father, head coach Mark Roller.

STRASBURG -- Ryan Roller has been around the Strasburg Rams football program his whole life.

Roller, the son of Strasburg head football coach Mark Roller, said his favorite memory from being on the sidelines during his dad's games was just being around the older players.

"What I remember was looking up to all the older kids," Ryan Roller said. "Just seeing them and thinking one day I want to play for him. That's what I remember most is looking up to all those guys."

Ryan Roller said that he and his dad try to stay like a father-son at home instead of a coach-player. He said that overall it's been good having his father as a coach.

"It's good to have a coach as your dad," Ryan Roller said. "You can ask him whatever you want and he'll help you out. You got a guy at home you can watch film with. He'll tell you what you did wrong. I got help 24-7 if I need it."

Mark Roller said that he thinks it's helped Ryan and his older brothers, Satchell and Will, to play sports and be around athletics throughout their childhood.

"He's been around it," Mark Roller said. "They used to hang out with me at practice until their mom got off work, and they were always around athletics. That's a special privilege, I think, to be able to do that. I think that's helped him along the way. I think that's helped all my boys with where they are in life. Sports and athletics is one of those things that helps you later on in life. And I don't think that's going to be any different for him just being around it, just giving him some knowledge of the game."

Ryan Roller moved up to varsity as a sophomore and played some at quarterback. He split time with Ryan Jenkins at the position during a COVID-19 pandemic shortened season.

"He taught me a lot," Ryan Roller said. "Him being one of the older guys too, he taught me a bunch of stuff with throwing and just passed down some of his knowledge to me."

In his sophomore year, Ryan Roller went 6-for-13 for 113 yards passing and one touchdown. He also ran for 74 yards on 13 carries and one score.

Ryan Roller also played at defensive back. He said that overall his sophomore year was a good learning experience for him.

"I definitely did learn from those seniors that played before me," Ryan Roller said. "I learned a lot from them. I learned a lot for the seniors last year. And now I'm a senior and hopefully I can teach some of the guys below me."

Last season Ryan Roller started both ways for the Rams and he said it felt good to be on the field and making plays.

"Last year starting both ways I was nervous, very nervous," Ryan Roller said. "But once the year got started and moving on the nerves started going away and it was more excitement to get out there."

Ryan Roller excelled on both sides of the ball. On offense, he threw for 383 yards on 19-for-52 passing and four touchdowns. He also ran for 157 yards and six touchdowns.

On defense is where Ryan Roller really stood out last season. He led the area with five interceptions and had 58 tackles.

"Playing quarterback and defensive back you understand the flight of the ball and how the quarterback thinks," Ryan Roller said. "So you know where the ball is going most of the time."

Mark Roller said he was happy with the way his son played on the defensive side of the ball last season.

"What surprised me was the way he played defense last year," Mark Roller said. "His ability to get to the ball and make hits, and that kind of surprised me a little bit. And that kind of showed a maturity level there that I didn't quite see yet. ...But he's a great asset for us and a good leader."

Mark Roller said it's nice that Ryan plays the same two positions -- quarterback and safety -- that Mark did in high school. Mark Roller, a 1989 Strasburg graduate, led the Rams to the state finals in both his junior and senior seasons of high school on back-to-back undefeated regular season squads.

"It makes it a little bit easier for me to be able to relate to those two positions," Mark Roller said. "I think he does some things a little bit better than what I did and that's OK. I'm trying to get him to understand a little bit better the concept of the offense, and I think he's grown to understand it a little bit. And he's gotten better with his passing."

Mark Roller said that Ryan has worked some in the offseason with Strasburg 2020 graduate Chase Hart, who is playing for James Madison University this season. Ryan Roller said Hart was a big help to him.

"Chase, he came in here to lift with us, to get ready for his season," Ryan Roller said. "So he came down to throw with us a little bit. He taught me his routine, stretching, whatever he could tell me that I wanted to know. He taught me so much about throwing, and where I should finish and how I should flick my wrist to where my thumb should go. He taught me a lot of it."

Last season didn't end the way Ryan Roller would have liked. He suffered an injury in the final game of the regular season and missed both playoff games.

"It was tough," Ryan Roller said. "I really wanted to be out there but I couldn't. I just had to let those guys handle it and I knew they would."

Ryan Roller is a three-sport athlete, playing basketball and soccer as well.

Strasburg opens its football season by hosting Skyline on Aug. 26.

Ryan Roller said he wants to make the most of his senior year, and he said he's trying to step up as a leader.

"I'm trying to be more of a leader," he said. "But most of these guys they do the leading themselves. If they get a little off task I'll jump in there, but they're a good group of guys."

– Contact Tommy Keeler Jr. at tkeeler@nvdaily.com

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.