A 10-year-old Malcolm Roach stood on the sidelines in full pads as the chatter began building.
It was the fourth quarter of a Southern Lab University School varsity football game in 2008, and the Kittens — coached by Malcom’s dad, Mike Roach — were up by more than 50.
Bigger than most kids his age in Baton Rouge, La., Malcolm was certain he could hold his own against high school players — even as a fifth-grader. So did the rest of the team.
“Put him in for kickoff,” the players prodded.
Father turned toward his son, “Do you want to go in?” Malcolm’s response: “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Malcolm ran onto the field with his heart racing. When the ball was kicked, he sped down the field and jumped into a pile.
From that moment on, nothing could stop Malcolm. An elementary school kid popping pads with players nearly twice his age, he didn’t relent. All these years later with the Broncos, the defensive lineman still plays with his hair on fire and carries the same vibrant personality that made him the life of the party at Southern Lab.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do this for real,” he said. “When it was time to play with guys my age, it wasn’t as challenging to transition.”
“Steroid baby”
Malcolm started playing football as soon as he could walk. In the Roach family, that’s just the way it is.
Mike, a retired high school and college coach, worked with Doug Williams at Grambling State and played linebacker for Southern University. Roach’s grandfather, Albert Ventress, coached high school football in Louisiana. And his brother, Mike Jr., was a quarterback at Grambling.
His mother, Nancy, even played intramural flag football when she was in school.
There wasn’t a middle school team at Southern Lab — a K-12 program — so Roach attended varsity practices while playing youth tackle football. He’d sometimes put on gear and use the weights even though he was underage.
“They started calling Malcolm ‘Steroid baby,’” Mike laughed.
At 5-foot-6, 160 pounds, Malcolm was bigger than your average fifth-grader. And it wasn’t long before he became a full-time member of the team.
“I was a little meatball,” Malcolm joked.
Broncos defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, left, stands next to his father, Mike, center, and older brother, Mike Jr., in his Southern University Lab School uniform. Roach started playing varsity football at Southern Lab in the fifth grade. (Photo courtesy of Nancy Roach)
He’d be in the weight room at 5 a.m. like everyone else, ripping off 500 push-ups a day since he was prohibited from heavy lifting. If the school had a prep rally, he left class early to join the team. Whenever Southern Lab built a sizable lead, he joined the kickoff unit and played defensive snaps at linebacker.
When Malcolm started making tackles, Mike knew he could hang with the older guys. His mother, Nancy, didn’t see any of it coming.
“One of the parents was like, ‘Look, your baby is out there,’ and I said ‘What?’” Nancy said. “Next thing I know, Malcolm came around and made a tackle like in the movie ‘Rudy.’ We were killing ourselves, laughing in the stands.”
“The nastiest player I’ve seen”
Mike can recall the moment as if it happened yesterday.
It was just another practice at Southern Lab, except this time when former five-star safety Chad Jones caught a pass in the flat, Roach decided to tackle him.
“I said ‘Malcolm, don’t hit that kid. He’s a starter,” Mike said.
Malcolm always had an aggressive approach to the game. Sometimes, he got carried away.
Malcolm was kicked out of a youth flag football league for tackling. When he played in the Louisiana Youth Football League, parents would jokingly ask Nancy for her son’s birth certificate.
Mike remembered when a kid didn’t want to get off the ground after Malcolm tackled him.
“Malcolm tried to reach down and pick him up and the kid was like, ‘Don’t touch me,’” Mike said.
No matter how big or small the opponent, Malcolm never backed down. Even when he got run over, he popped back up without hesitation.
As time went on, and Malcolm grew, he became dominant. He followed his father to Madison Prep High School as a sophomore and became a four-time all-state selection. During his junior year, he collected 134 tackles (27 for loss), 20 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three defensive touchdowns. He followed that up with 143 tackles and 14.5 sacks as a senior.
“He was the nastiest player I’ve ever seen,” said Lyndon Rash, a close friend and former teammate at Madison Prep. “Malcolm would slam you on your head.”
The NFL was always the goal.
As a kid, Malcolm re-watched the team’s Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Indianapolis Colts every night before going to sleep.
“It was kind of like a lullaby,” he said. “I would watch the first three drives, and go to sleep with the dream of (being) in that position and (playing) for that team.”
Following his four-year career at Texas, Malcolm was certain he would get taken in the 2020 NFL draft.
A senior captain for the Longhorns in 2019, he played in 13 games (12 starts), totaling 40 tackles (nine for loss) and three sacks. But after two days, his name hadn’t been called. Rather than watch Day 3, Roach went to work, doing a series of hill runs with his friend Rash.
Malcolm went undrafted but it wasn’t long before he was given an opportunity to play for his childhood team when the Saints signed him to a deal. The odds were long, so Nancy reminded her son of the stakes.
“My mom made me look at my bank account,” Malcolm said. “I had like $400… in the savings (account). I probably had two dollars in the checking (account).”
That was all the motivation he needed.
Denver Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss (52) and Denver Broncos defensive tackle Malcolm Roach (97) chase down New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) in the 4th quarter at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Roach made the initial 53-man roster, spent four seasons with the Saints as a rotational player and then signed a two-year deal with Denver last offseason, hoping to improve a Broncos’ defensive line that struggled to contain the run and create quarterback pressure.
Four weeks into his first year in Denver, he’s already made his presence felt. In the fourth quarter of Denver’s 10-9 win over the Jets, Roach took down future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a split sack. And he has the second-best pass rush win rate among NFL defensive tackles, according to ESPN Analytics.
“He has a high motor,” cornerback Pat Surtain II told The Post. “He disrupts the line of scrimmage every play.”
“One of my favorite teammates”
Surtain’s eyes widened when he first heard the story.
Varsity football? As a fifth-grader? Surtain turned to D.J. Jones for clarification, but even the veteran nose tackle could only shake his head in disbelief.
“That’s diabolical,” Jones said, looking across the room to see if Roach was around to testify.
In the short time Roach has been in Denver, he has been labeled many things. First and foremost, he’s an energetic defender in the trenches. But he’s also a storyteller, hype man and team DJ.
He walks around the locker room with a speaker, blasting hip-hop, R&B and country music. During the Broncos’ two-game win streak, he’s taken to playing “Plutoski,” a song off rapper Future’s latest project “Mixtape Pluto.” He’s considering making the track the team’s victory song.
Safety P.J. Locke and wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey say Roach is the same person they played with at Texas: Loud, goofy and always finding ways to make teammates smile.
His father insists he’s been like that all the way back to those days at Southern Lab.
“From the fifth grade, he would bring the music in the locker room and crank it up,” Mike said.
For Malcolm, it doesn’t matter if you play on the defensive line or special teams, he’s going to strike up a conversation.
“He told us about a dude who drove a car through his school (in Louisiana) and no one believed him until he found pictures,” Jones marveled. “You’re gonna get a different story every day, and it’s interesting. He’s becoming one of my favorite teammates that I ever had.”
Malcolm Roach (97) and Zach Allen (99) of the Denver Broncos celebrate a late stop against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 26-7 win at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Related Articles
NFL Picks: Biggest game of the AFC season so far on tap with Josh Allen’s Bills visiting C.J. Stroud’s Texans
Getting production from TE Greg Dulcich one of many factors that could jumpstart Broncos offense
Renck: With great power comes great responsibility — and a lot of sacks for Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper
Broncos coaching staff “very impressed” with Alex Palczewski’s first two starts at right tackle
Broncos podcast: Is Sean Payton’s team in position to finally break Denver’s long losing streak against the Raiders?
There’s also a side to Roach that’s all business — a student of the game teammates think is destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a coach.
Surtain called Roach a film junkie who has a great understanding of run schemes. At practice, defensive end John Franklin-Myers said he helps him with his run fits and playing different defensive fronts.
Growing up, Roach admired the impact his dad had on the kids he coached, including his own life. When Roach was in New Orleans, he’d occasionally speak to youth football teams and share his unique journey to the league.
Always the storyteller, sometimes a teacher and never boring.
“Malcolm is all laughs and having fun, but you are going to know when he is serious,” Rash said. “He never forgot where he came from.”
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.