A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and former Florida State safety Myron Rolle refuses to waste his.
After a successful campaign at Florida State and two seasons in the NFL, Rolle has apparently given up the football life at age 26 and is waiting to hear whether he has been accepted to medical school, according to Lost Letterman.
“Within 10 days or so I should hear back from a few,” Rolle told Lost Letterman on Monday. “I don’t know where I’ll be, but I know I’m looking for schools with good neurosurgery programs in places where I want to live.”
Yes, the former Seminole plans to become a brain surgeon.
Rolle was the No. 1 high school prospect in the country in the class of 2006 and opted to accept a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University instead of declaring for the 2009 NFL draft. Right now Rolle is in Philadelphia, four weeks into an administrative fellowship at a managed care organization called AmeriHealth Caritas.
The safety’s combination of brains and brawn was showcased at Florida State, where he received his bachelors degree in Exercise Science in 2 1/2 years and was named First Team Freshman All-American in 2006. He earned both Third Team All-America and Second Team All-ACC honors in 2008.
Despite receiving feedback that he might go in the second round of the NFL draft, Rolle made the decision to forgo the draft to study at Oxford, a lifelong dream for him.
“When I was in high school, I used to play basketball at Jadwin Gym on Princeton’s campus,” Rolle said. “And I remember seeing a trophy case devoted to Bill Bradley. I saw that he was a Rhodes Scholar and the epitome of a student athlete. He became my role model in a way.”
The Tennessee Titans selected Rolle in the sixth round of the NFL draft, but he was released prior to the start of the 2011 NFL season. The Steelers signed him to a futures contract the next offseason only to release him at the end of the 2012 preseason.
Waiting to be called by one of the 32 NFL teams is similar to waiting to hear back about his med school applications, Rolle told Lost Letterman. He hasn’t divulged which schools he has applied to yet, but if he is accepted he plans to enroll to start this summer.
Photo via Facebook/Myron Rolle
