The Blaze senior was named SSC Lineman of the Year, and his coach says he earned every award he received
Mark Remme, Neighbor – Posted Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 4:22 pm CT
As a member of the Eastview coaching staff for 14 years prior to becoming the Burnsville football coach last season, Tyler Krebs had seen his fair share of offensive linemen. In his final two seasons with the Lightning, he became aware of the Blaze’s big, bruising offensive lineman Chase Roullier.
And when he took the Burnsville job, he was excited to have him on his team.
“The past few seasons we’d known who he was, and in my opinion he was their best offensive lineman last year as a junior,” Krebs said. “I knew of him coming and was excited to work with him, and once I got here and realized the type of person he was, I was even more excited. He’s a great young man.”
Roullier showed his dominance on the field each game this fall, and as a result he racked up a myriad of awards. On top of being selected to the Associated Press All-State, St. Paul Pioneer Press All-State and South Suburban All-Conference teams, Roullier was selected as the SSC’s Lineman of the Year for 2011.
Being selected as the top lineman in deep conference is something Roullier said is pretty special.Subscribe
“It’s a great honor to be chosen for that,” he said. “I know there are a lot of guys who deserve it, too. But just to be represented as the best of the best is a great honor.”
He earned it.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior did virtually everything as a Burnsville lineman in his career. Offensively, he played center as a sophomore, tackle as a junior and converted to guard as a senior to help pull and pave holes for the Blaze’s Wing-T offensive scheme.
Defensively this fall he played nose guard and defensive tackle, compiling 60 tackles and four sacks.
Even though playing both offense and defense is rare in the SSC, especially for a lineman of Roullier’s size, Krebs understood his value on the field.
“We really noticed when he wasn’t in there,” Krebs said. “He just has such a big body and such a physical presence, we needed to have him out there as much as we could.”
Roullier’s size, versatility and intelligence has made him a marketable athlete for this year’s college recruiting season. He’s received interest from several schools, but he’s still weighing his options for where he’d like to play.
Wherever it is, he’d like the school to have a strong engineering program. Education is his top priority.
“I really want to use my scholarship to get my education,” he said. “That’s the big thing for me.”
Not surprising, Krebs said, considering the type of kid Roullier is. In the classroom and on the field, Krebs said Roullier has been a standout.
“The only thing I’d say is I wish we had him for another year, too,” Krebs said. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even better person. As a coach, and I have him in class right now—he’s a great student—you pull for kids like that. It was a pleasure working with him.”
