Jacque Roman enjoys music, just not moving it.
He'll take offensive backs and linemen over a piano any day.
"They're easier to deal with," said Roman, who found himself out of football and stuck in the furniture-moving business five years ago.
Roman was a highly recruited linebacker out of Camden County High School in Kingsland, Ga., when his future took an unexpected turn. He had committed to Auburn during his junior season but changed his mind.
"I had always wanted to be a linebacker at Miami," Roman said. "So I actually went to visit Miami about a week before signing day. They said they were going to offer me. I was told they were going to send the papers for me to sign. But the papers never came.
"I tried to call some of the other schools back, but they all ended up signing other people."
So, Roman took a job for a moving company in Atlanta.
"Some people might not realize, but I can say for certain it's a very hard job," Roman said. "It was in the summer. The sun was hot. It definitely kept me in shape."
And he'll never forget the piano.
"A piano is one thing you don't want to move by yourself," he said, speaking with expertise. "You have to use special tools to move a piano. If you've got a multi-story house, it's ridiculous.
"I had to move one up a three-story house."
Roman, encouraged by his father, Leon, kept working and taking trips to the gym. He did get more scholarship offers the next recruiting period, and he accepted Appalachian State's. He will enter Saturday's Senior Day game as one of the most productive defensive players in ASU history.
Roman (6-1, 240 pounds) has started at middle linebacker since midway through his freshman season and has played in 53 games, more than any current ASU player. He was named defensive player of the year in the Southern Conference last season, and his 376 career tackles tops the list among active players in the Football Championship Subdivision.
"He's helped us win a lot of games," said Dale Jones, the Mountaineers' linebackers coach. "He's a terrific player, a terrific young man, and he's got a shot at the next level. The people that come through looking at him like what they see. He's very physical, tough, and he works hard."
Roman thinks he has a chance to make an NFL roster but said he doesn't want to think too far ahead. He'd like nothing more than to end his senior season with another national title.
"That would be a great feeling," Roman said. "I've been thinking about this all year, since the first game. I've been playing every down like it's my last because I know my college career is coming to a close. I've been playing every game to get back to the national championship."
Roman is a communications major with a love of music -- he composes and produces music from a studio he set up in Atlanta, and has a track on one of his team's motivational tapes. He will graduate in December.
For that, he thanks his dad for keeping him encouraged during his year away from football and school. And, incidentally, it was his dad who came up with the name "Jacque," with approval from Leon's wife, Lyra.
"My mom actually wanted to name me something different, but I was born the same date as my dad so he got to name me," Roman said. "Jacque was a name he always liked."
The birthday is Dec. 16.
"It always falls right around the national-championship game," Roman said. "That's always a good present."
tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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