Roger “Rocky” McIntosh attended Gaffney High School in Gaffney, South Carolina where he was an all-American and considered to be one of the best linebacker prospects in the nation. He accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Miami where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt freshman. He received significant playing time the following season, starting six games on the year. He finished with 43 tackles and a forced fumble on the season. A knee injury prior to his sophomore year caused McIntosh to miss preseason practices and the season opener. He saw action in 12 games as a reserve linebacker and finished with 23 tackles on the season. His junior season was Rocky’s best year at Miami. He started six games at strongside linebacker and three games a middle linebacker, finishing with a career high 111 tackles. He also had 4 sacks and a forced fumble. He was named Miami’s “linebacker of the year” and honorable mention all-ACC for his play as a junior. McIntosh put up another solid season as a senior totaling 89 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and a career high 5 ½ sacks on his way to his second straight honorable mention all-ACC selection.

Rocky McIntosh is a versatile player who has starting experience at both middle linebacker and outside linebacker. He is an intelligent player who has a very good work ethic. He has a good combination of size and speed for an outside linebacker. He has good athletic ability which allows him to make plays sideline to sideline. He is a solid run defender who makes a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage and rarely misses a tackle. He is a very good pass rusher with good closing speed getting to the quarterback. Rocky McIntosh has been a bit of a disappointment since coming to Miami. He has had multiple injuries that have slowed him and he has been inconsistent when he has been healthy. He needs to improve his strength and learn to take on blockers better. He has a tendency to run around blocks and will overpursue the ball carrier at times. He has the athletic ability to be good in coverage but this is another area he needs to improve on to become a more complete linebacker. McIntosh has all the tools to become a solid linebacker, but he has yet to put it all together. He does have a good deal of upside and has had excellent predraft workouts. He should be a first day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.