Jerad Rosburg: A Football Coach’s Son Living His Hockey Dream
12/16/2019 1:00:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Julian Mitchell
For MSUSpartans.com
EAST LANSING -- Sunday always meant a little more at the home of Michigan State hockey defenseman Jerad Rosburg. The day was different because Rosburg's father, Jerry, was roaming the sidelines of NFL games.
Jerry just retired from coaching this past spring, after spending nearly 40 years in that role. He helped the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl in 2013, and was their special teams/associate head coach. He also coached for the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. Before that, he was a position coach at Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Minnesota.
Rosburg said his dad's visibility as a coach made football games carry a different perspective for him.
"We (coaches' children) definitely have a different perspective than the average person because we kind of live and die by the game," said Rosburg, who calls Clarksville, Maryland, home. "I think the biggest thing that most people don't understand is they're just fans and it's easy to kind of make fun of your own team or give guys crap for something. But for us coaches' kids, it's our lives, it's a little bit different. Going to school every day after a win or a loss and having to give a press conference for everyone in the school based on the football game that I had no part of."
His dad's coaching journey had the family traveling from state to state. As a result, Rosburg grew up playing hockey in various places including, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
Rosburg played football and hockey growing up. The decision to choose hockey was made due a time crunch with two sisters playing sports of their own and their dad gone all the time. The choice was pretty easy, as he only made it to flag football by the time he decided to hang up the cleats.
"I started playing hockey in Indiana, but I was kind of young and that was already my third move by the time I was there, but I don't remember a whole bunch from when I was little. My first long, decent stint somewhere was in Cleveland and that's where I fell in love with the game as far as I has a great group of teammates and I just loved going to the rink and that's where I fell in love with the game of hockey which was a great base to have," he said.
Moving a lot as a child was challenging, but Rosburg said he learned a lot from the moves and developed a positive mindset about starting fresh.
"It's tough to always go from new school to new team to new school, it's like a bunch of new people so I think that I learned to interact with a bunch of different teammates and people and I can see it from every different view because I've been with so many different people, teammates, and places," he said. "Hockey definitely changed for me, it's almost always like a tryout at that point when every year you're on a new team, in a new place, you're always trying to prove yourself to new people, new places.
"It's definitely still fun, but it's just different I'm always trying to improve and get better, show what I can do and improve myself so when it came time to juniors, college and NHL teams are watching you I guess that helped me."
Despite all the moving and change, one thing remained constant: the Rosburg family's love for Michigan State. Their connections run deep, as Jerry worked as a graduate assistant for the football team while getting his master's at Northern Michigan in the early 1980s. His roommate? An undergrad basketball player named Tom Izzo.
The Izzo and Rosburg families have remained close, making sure to spend time together in the summers even when their lives took them across the country.
So, when it came time to pick a school for hockey, Michigan State was an easy choice. The relationship with the Izzo family has only gotten stronger since he arrived in East Lansing.
"Being able to actually come here and see his love for the school, there's really no one in this world that loves MSU more than Tom Izzo. The guy just bleeds green, loves this place more than anyone else," Rosburg said. "So to be able to see it first-hand and see his commitment to this place, and be able to get closer with Steven and Rocky (Izzo) and their whole family, just being part of the MSU culture its meant so much to me. They're like my second family and I love them to death."
Rosburg, who stands 6-2, missed his freshman year in college due to a knee injury. He recovered, and has become one of the best defensemen in the Big Ten. He was named as MSU's most outstanding defensive player last season.
He is now in his final season, and realizing his time playing for MSU is coming to an end. He also sees the finish line arriving soon to receiving his degree in finance.
"To be able to play here is an honor and it's a dream come true to be able to be here for my fifth year now," he said. "It's incredible to be able to live out that dream you had when you were a kid. I'm just trying to move the program on and leave it better than I found it, I think we're making steps toward that this year and that's probably my main goal."
Rosburg hopes to play in the NHL, and maybe someday, becoming a successful coach like his dad.
"I definitely want to give back to the sport that gave me so much, I think that would be important," he said. "So, if that's coaching or working in management, we'll see, I'm not really too worried about that right now. I'm just trying to focus on the playing part first, that's definitely my main focus and after the season we'll hopefully be able to fulfill that dream."
For MSUSpartans.com
EAST LANSING -- Sunday always meant a little more at the home of Michigan State hockey defenseman Jerad Rosburg. The day was different because Rosburg's father, Jerry, was roaming the sidelines of NFL games.
Jerry just retired from coaching this past spring, after spending nearly 40 years in that role. He helped the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl in 2013, and was their special teams/associate head coach. He also coached for the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. Before that, he was a position coach at Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Minnesota.
Rosburg said his dad's visibility as a coach made football games carry a different perspective for him.
"We (coaches' children) definitely have a different perspective than the average person because we kind of live and die by the game," said Rosburg, who calls Clarksville, Maryland, home. "I think the biggest thing that most people don't understand is they're just fans and it's easy to kind of make fun of your own team or give guys crap for something. But for us coaches' kids, it's our lives, it's a little bit different. Going to school every day after a win or a loss and having to give a press conference for everyone in the school based on the football game that I had no part of."
His dad's coaching journey had the family traveling from state to state. As a result, Rosburg grew up playing hockey in various places including, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
Rosburg played football and hockey growing up. The decision to choose hockey was made due a time crunch with two sisters playing sports of their own and their dad gone all the time. The choice was pretty easy, as he only made it to flag football by the time he decided to hang up the cleats.
"I started playing hockey in Indiana, but I was kind of young and that was already my third move by the time I was there, but I don't remember a whole bunch from when I was little. My first long, decent stint somewhere was in Cleveland and that's where I fell in love with the game as far as I has a great group of teammates and I just loved going to the rink and that's where I fell in love with the game of hockey which was a great base to have," he said.
Moving a lot as a child was challenging, but Rosburg said he learned a lot from the moves and developed a positive mindset about starting fresh.
"It's tough to always go from new school to new team to new school, it's like a bunch of new people so I think that I learned to interact with a bunch of different teammates and people and I can see it from every different view because I've been with so many different people, teammates, and places," he said. "Hockey definitely changed for me, it's almost always like a tryout at that point when every year you're on a new team, in a new place, you're always trying to prove yourself to new people, new places.
"It's definitely still fun, but it's just different I'm always trying to improve and get better, show what I can do and improve myself so when it came time to juniors, college and NHL teams are watching you I guess that helped me."
Despite all the moving and change, one thing remained constant: the Rosburg family's love for Michigan State. Their connections run deep, as Jerry worked as a graduate assistant for the football team while getting his master's at Northern Michigan in the early 1980s. His roommate? An undergrad basketball player named Tom Izzo.
The Izzo and Rosburg families have remained close, making sure to spend time together in the summers even when their lives took them across the country.
So, when it came time to pick a school for hockey, Michigan State was an easy choice. The relationship with the Izzo family has only gotten stronger since he arrived in East Lansing.
"Being able to actually come here and see his love for the school, there's really no one in this world that loves MSU more than Tom Izzo. The guy just bleeds green, loves this place more than anyone else," Rosburg said. "So to be able to see it first-hand and see his commitment to this place, and be able to get closer with Steven and Rocky (Izzo) and their whole family, just being part of the MSU culture its meant so much to me. They're like my second family and I love them to death."
Rosburg, who stands 6-2, missed his freshman year in college due to a knee injury. He recovered, and has become one of the best defensemen in the Big Ten. He was named as MSU's most outstanding defensive player last season.
He is now in his final season, and realizing his time playing for MSU is coming to an end. He also sees the finish line arriving soon to receiving his degree in finance.
"To be able to play here is an honor and it's a dream come true to be able to be here for my fifth year now," he said. "It's incredible to be able to live out that dream you had when you were a kid. I'm just trying to move the program on and leave it better than I found it, I think we're making steps toward that this year and that's probably my main goal."
Rosburg hopes to play in the NHL, and maybe someday, becoming a successful coach like his dad.
"I definitely want to give back to the sport that gave me so much, I think that would be important," he said. "So, if that's coaching or working in management, we'll see, I'm not really too worried about that right now. I'm just trying to focus on the playing part first, that's definitely my main focus and after the season we'll hopefully be able to fulfill that dream."
Players Mentioned
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