Rouse ready to finish rebuilding

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—James Rouse was confident when he arrived at Marshall that he could be part of something special. He knew that he wanted to contribute to rebuilding the proud program that had fallen on had times. It was that belief and a never-quit attitude that pushed Rouse through three injuries that could have ended his career.

Rouse had barely recovered from a knee injury in 2011 when he hurt his back three games into the season and wouldn’t take the field again. Rouse’s 2012 season never started. An achilles injury kept him sidelined for the entire year. Rouse, who has never given up on something he has started, had moments when he questioned coming back.

James Rouse chases down the Maryland quarterback during Marshall’s 30-20 win in the Military Bowl.

“I injured my back again and that time it was hard for me because it was just one thing after another. I had times I didn’t know if I could do this any more, maybe it was just not my time,” admits Rouse.

However, those thoughts were fleeting.

“At the same time you just have to keep on fighting to get back to where you wanted to be and that was back on the field with my teammates. “

When Rouse finally got back on the field he made his presence felt and caught the attention of coaches around the league. Rouse led The Herd with 14 tackles for loss and six sacks last season. This year, C-USA’s coaches rewarded him when they voted him the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Rouse, a rare sixth-year senior, is the last player on Marshall’s roster who was recruited by the former regime. The Harrisburg, VA native was recruited to Marshall by former coach Mark Snyder’s staff as the program was bottoming out.

“When I came to Marshall I wanted to be part of the building of how it was back in the day. I knew we had the capabilities to do that and I just wanted to contribute on the field.”

Since his arrival on campus, Doc Holliday has come in and Marshall has done a 180. Now, The Herd is the unanimous pick to win Conference USA and it is once again gained relevance at the national level.

“It’s changed a whole lot from the mentality to workouts to the social aspect,” assess Rouse. “It’s just crazy to see how far the program has come from the time I came to the time I leave.”

Rouse doesn’t question the heart or will of any former players but following the 2009 season it was clear a culture change was needed around Marshall football. Doc Holiday and the assistants he brought with him brought the change the Thundering Herd needed.

“As different people and coaches started to come in here and started to develop the mindset that we have to work and work hard everyday and you’re not going to be able to accomplish anything if you don’t. The players took that to heart and just building on it to the great season we had last year.”

Rouse intends to build on last seasons and a successful 2014 season could lead to a career for Rouse beyond Marshall.

“I’ve thought about it,” Rouse says about the prospect of playing in the NFL. “I hope that is still out there for me.”

For now Rouse wants to complete what he started when he came to Marshall and that is to return a championship to Huntington.

After all, he’s never given up on a goal yet.





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