Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

Thomas Roach would have loved it, seeing his son streak down the field in an NFL playoff game.

He was an Iowa high school football hall of famer after his career at Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, a small town near the Minnesota border, and then earned four varsity letters playing fullback at Iowa State from 1978 to 1981.

After settling in Omaha, Nebraska, he dove into the local sports scene, starting a website to broadcast the games of Elkhorn Public Schools – schools where his three children Trevor, Tyler and Tara starred in their own athletic endeavors.

Tyler played defensive line and Tara was a forward for the women’s basketball team at Northwest Missouri State University, and Trevor walked on to play linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Trevor finished as a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and graduated in December of 2014 with degrees in finance and management.

Through his time on the field, Trevor fought through severe injury. In high school he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and hamstring. He also suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot, leading to a tension wire being put into his foot for stability. He then chipped a bone in right foot in his final college game.

But just months before Trevor earned a spot on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad in September of 2015, Thomas Roach passed away suddenly at the age of 56.

There were thoughts then, of moving on from football.

“It’s funny too because it comes to a point where it’s all you’ve ever known, so it’s scary to change,” Trevor Roach admitted. “So there is a lot of players that will just do it because they don’t know anything else. I’ve played football since I was a little kid. It’s all I’ve never known. A lot of people don’t like change and I decided to give it a shot. At the same time it’s kind of one of those things where in the moment it is exciting, but looking back it’s definitely something I did to prove myself, see if I could do it.

“A lot of it too I did because of my father. Those were a few reasons why I stuck around and kept doing it.”

Trevor spent all of 2015 on the practice squad, until he was activated and played on special teams in that Jan. 9, 2016 loss to the Steelers.

He thought about walking away last offseason, but felt the Bengals had a strong chance to win the Super Bowl.

So, he gave it one last go.

Roach made the 53-man roster out of training camp this past season and played in the first three games of the year. He then spent most of the season back on the practice squad before playing in the season finale.

“He loved that stuff,” Trevor said of his father. “I figured he always wanted me to make it, so I don’t know. It was in the back of my mind, something I always thought about.”

Now, Trevor Roach doesn’t love it as much.

“A lot of factors kind of went in to it, but the main one is I kind of lost the love for the game,” he said. “To be honest with you, I kind of stuck around just one more year just because I thought we had a shot at winning. That didn’t go well. That was kind of the reason I stuck around another year. Then I just kind of didn’t love it anymore and I figured my wife (Stephanie) has a job she loves so I’m going to move home and find a job and start my career and do what I’ve been doing.”

He plans on capitalizing on his degree and his love of finance to work in the corporate world in Nebraska.

Enquirer mock draft: Bengals own options at No. 9

But the litany of severe injuries and the fact he still feels their after-effects did play a role in his decision to retire.

“That was definitely part of the consideration,” Roach said. “All those little things, I just don’t want them to affect me down the road. I know a lot of players who played a long time, a lot of those guys they’re always in pain and stuff like that. I decided, you know, that’s just another icing on the cake to get out while I can while I still have my health.”

Roach said he thought about the effects of head trauma on football players, but it wasn’t a big part of his decision.

“I’m not a scientist, I don’t know everything that goes on, but I’ve only had one (concussion) so I certainly don’t think it will affect me and that wasn’t my decision behind the whole thing,” he said. “I don’t think that was a huge player in it.”

Roach said he has already gotten messages of support from former teammates, but knows he’ll have to answer the inevitable questions about giving up the game. But, he looked down the road and thought about the challenges of trying to start a career from scratch near the age of 30 and decided now was the best time to move on.

“The past two years, obviously they’re difficult but anything in life is difficult if you want to be great at it,” he said. “That’s kind of how I look at the working world I’m going to go in to. I don’t think it’s going to be any different. I still have to work and I have to bust my ass to do well. I don’t view it as being any different than anything else. It wasn’t easy by any means, but if things are handed to you then you don’t take appreciation of the things you’ve done.

“I’m glad I went through those experiences. I had a blast. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Just kind of a thing where I’m just ready for the next steps of my life and start a career.”

Russell Bodine earns a raise, season ticket prices rise, Cowboys WR claimed