A native of Galloway, N.J., [Myron] Rolle arrived at Florida State from the Hun School in Princeton as the country\u2019s No. 1 football recruit. He has had an all-American-caliber junior season, but Rolle\u2019s list of off-field accomplishments is as lengthy as it is daunting.<\/p>\n
He graduated from Florida State in two and a half years with a degree in pre-med and a grade point average of 3.75. He is so studious that the Seminoles\u2019 defensive coordinator, Mickey Andrews, publicly criticized him for studying too much last year, saying it affected Rolle\u2019s preparation for football. Rolle said the criticism was a \u201clittle unfair.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him the benefit of the doubt,\u201d\u009d Rolle said of Andrews. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever sat through an organic chemistry lecture and seen just how difficult it is. He\u2019s been through a couple ballgames, but that\u2019s a different arena right there.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Outside of class, Rolle was awarded a $4,000 grant for cancer research over the summer, and also started a program to help educate Seminole Indian children in Okeechobee, Fla., about the importance of health and physical fitness. He belongs to a fraternity, helps tutor his teammates, has studied in London and has written for The New York Times.<\/p>\n
As he has been deluged by interview requests this week \u201d\u201d including three reporters traveling with him on the plane to College Park \u201d\u201d Rolle said he welcomed carrying the brand of the university.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no problem holding the weight of that on my shoulders,\u201d\u009d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s more of a privilege and an honor than a burden.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n