Ironman Insider: Durwood Roquemore
Tom Goodhines
Saturday March 25, 2000
“It must be the shoes.”
It was the familiar and repetitive phrase heard in the popular Nike commercial featuring Michael Jordan during the 1980s.
“It’s gotta’ be the shoes!”
It also might describe Durwood Roquemore’s thought process during his career.
You see – the 1999 Arena Football League Hall of Fame inductee only wore one pair of shoes for his entire AFL career. “You should see these shoes,” Roquemore said with a laugh. “They were very comfortable and I would just keep taping them up year after year. In my last year [in the AFL], it looked like I was playing in slippers. I still have them, too.”
But they were Adidas – not Nike.
Superstition or not , who could argue with his methods? The nine-year AFL veteran was named to the All-Arena First team five times – more than any other player. He also holds AFL career records for interceptions (50), tackles (503), assists (77) and passes defended (98). Roquemore was honored in 1996 with his selection to the Arena Football Tenth Anniversary team as well.
How did it all begin?
The two-time All-American from Texas A&I began his professional career when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 1982 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the Buffalo Bills and the U.S.F.L.’s Houston Gamblers. Roquemore said playing with NFL All-Pros like Gary Greene, Lloyd Burrows and Gary Barbaro helped him gain insight into the game. “Those guys taught me a lot,” Roquemore said. “I was able to learn from the best, and they really helped me make the transition from college to the NFL.”
In 1987, Roquemore’s career came inside when he was introduced to Arena Football by perennial All-Pro and Washington Redskin legend Darrell Green. Roquemore and Green played in the same defensive backfield and won a Division II, National Championship together at Texas A&I. Green talked to “Rock” about the AFL and suggested that he contact the league’s Director of Player Personnel, Darrell “Mouse” Davis, about playing in the league. “I talked to Mouse, went to Chicago for a workout, and a couple of days later I was playing on ESPN,” Roquemore said.
Roquemore signed on with the Chicago Bruisers and his AFL career took off. “It was an interesting opportunity,” Roquemore recalled. “It was a chance to play and I liked the two-way concept.” But he would leave his mark on the AFL as a defensive specialist.
After two years with the Bruisers, Roquemore played one year for the Albany Firebirds before moving on to the Orlando Predators. He would set numerous Predator records, including career INTs (30) and passes defended (66) – which still remain today.
“He is one of the greatest defensive players that I played with or against,” the 11-year AFL veteran Mike Hold said of his former teammate. “I really had a lot of respect for Rock. As a quarterback, I really didn’t have a lot of margin for error when I threw his way.”
During his days in the AFL, Roquemore played along side two MVPs (Ben Bennett and Barry Wagner), three Ironman of the Year winners (Billy Stone, Carl Aikens and six-timer Wagner) and numerous All-Arena selections (Bennett, Stone, Aikens, Wagner, Brent Johnson, Nick Mike-Mayer, Jeff Faulkner, Marco Morales, Reggie Smith, Sylvester Bembery, Kevin Murphy, Jorge Cimadevilla, Paul McGowan and Webbie Burnett.) Roquemore credits playing with talented teammates for adding to his depth of knowledge of the 50-yard Indoor War and preparing him to become a coach.
“Playing against the best everyday during practice makes you better. Whether you liked it or not – you become a better, smarter player,” Roquemore said. “I learned a lot from my teammates by just watching them. You watch how they went about their business and the results they got. It definitely helped me as far as developing as a coach.”
“He’s the ‘Mastermind of Defense,’” said Orlando Predator great and former teammate Herkie Walls. “He was the calmest player that I ever played with. Nobody studied the game more and nobody practiced harder.” Walls said that he learned a lot about the game from Roquemore and learned quickly that speed is not always best in the AFL.
“During practice he would give me a lot of room (to run a pass pattern) and I would run by him,” Walls recalled. “He would always come from out of nowhere to knock the passes down,” Walls recalled. “I couldn’t believe it and all he would say was, ‘Herkie, it’s all about angles.’”
Walls said that he was surprised that he learned so much about offense from “a defensive guy.”
“This guy knows the game,” Walls said. “During games he would always know what the other team was going to run. He would call the play before they even ran it. It was amazing.”
During his last years in the league, Roquemore called the plays on defense, which made his transition to coaching easy. He parlayed his experience into coaching roles with Albany and the Houston Thunderbears. His latest challenge comes as head coach of the Richmond Speed in the AFL’s minor league – arenafootball2.
With the Speed, “Coach Rock” finds himself in his own element. “I think that this is a great experience for me,” Roquemore said. “It gives me an opportunity to work with young players and also teach the game of Arena Football. A lot of the players know football, but Arenaball is a lot different. It can be very demanding.”
In his career, Roquemore played in three Arena Bowls, but walked away without a championship ring. Does he feel that his career is unfulfilled without a title? “Not at all,” Roquemore said. “A lot of players don’t even have the chance to play in a championship and I can say that I played in three.”
Roquemore now gets great satisfaction in his players’ successes. This past year, a player formerly under Coach Rock’s tutelage, Derek Stingley, was named as a First-Team All-Arena selection. “You like to see players you once coached excel,” Roquemore said. “I think that Derek has the potential to be the next great defensive force in the league.”
Is Stingley the next Roquemore?
Well, if he wants to walk in Roquemore’s shoes, he might need to get some more tape.
TOUGHEST PLAYER PLAYED AGAINST
“It’s hard to name just one,” Roquemore said. “Russell Hairston [1987 AFL MVP] was one that stood out in the early days. [George] LaFrance had the speed. Hunkie [Cooper] is very tough and physical, and [Fred] Gayles always made the tough catch.”
DEFENSIVE STARS
Three players came to mind when Roquemore was asked to name some top defenders. “Stingley, [Johnnie] Harris, and [Pat] McGuirk have all the tools,” Roquemore said. “All are good cover guys, good tacklers and have the ability to call a defense.”
A SPECIAL THANKS
The road has been long, but Roquemore gives credit to his wife Felicia, and his children, Monique, DeRoyce and Rickee, for supporting him throughout his travels. “All the recognition is great,” Roquemore said. “But, it would not have been possible without the support of my family. They have been great.”
Tom Goodhines was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2000 season.
