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The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
Rashad Rochelle: Going from Sycamore to Seahawk
- Story byThe Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
- Rashad Rochelle: Going from Sycamore to Seahawk
Recent Indiana State standout Rashad Rochelle has been around the block throughout his football career, but his latest stop is the most significant as he joins the NFL's Seattle Seahawks .
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Rochelle hails from Springfield, Ill. He has one last hurdle to climb with Seattle and that's the cut-down day to get to the 53-man roster. That date is Aug. 30.
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With Seattle, Rochelle will join a receiving corps that includes Jake Bobo , Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba , among others. Seattle finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 record.
On May 14, Rochelle signed with the defending Super Bowl champions after a rookie minicamp with the Carolina Panthers .
ISU coach Curt Mallory said Rochelle is dynamic and can do a lot on the field. Rochelle arrived at ISU from Rutgers in the transfer portal. During his time at Rutgers, Rochelle recorded an 88-yard kickoff return against Wagner.
As a freshman at Rutgers, he played in nine games, rushing for 109 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown.
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"We had a great connection because of his relationship with [quarterback] Elijah Owens," Mallory said. "They're childhood friends. He wanted to come play with Elijah."
Mallory said Rochelle's coaches at Rutgers had a lot of positive things to say about him.
"His desire to never miss a game or a practice, I think that says a lot," Mallory said. "The way he practiced, the way he prepared, he went full speed on it, on everything he did."
According to Mallory, he was a great example for the younger guys. While Rochelle had his share of injuries, Mallory said nobody worked harder to get back from that than Rochelle.
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"Of course, we had to make sure that he was cleared by the doctors, but in his mind, nothing was going to ever keep him off the field," Mallory said. "When he was on the field, no one practiced or played harder."
Mallory said Rochelle wanted to win and that the Sycamores utilized him in every way they could.
Prior to his camp experience with the Panthers, Rochelle participated in Notre Dame's pro day. Mallory said he told Rochelle to simply do what he's done since the day he met him. Rochelle said after talking with his agent Stephen Vanyo after the game against Murray State, they thought it was in his best interest to attend the College Gridiron Showcase.
"That was really like my first real NFL experience," Rochelle told the Tribune-Star.
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He thought like he did pretty well at Notre Dame's pro day and had a couple of opportunities after the draft, but felt the minicamp offer from Carolina was his best option.
"Then I think on that Tuesday, the Seahawks called and were like, 'Hey, we want you to come out here for a tryout,'" Rochelle mentioned. "I flew out there the next day, worked out, and then the Thursday of that same week that morning is when I got signed."
Rochelle said his agent reached out to him that morning, informing him they wanted to sign him.
"I think at that moment I had so many emotions coming at me at once," Rochelle recalled. "I was excited. I was anxious. I was thinking about what's going to happen next "
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With Seattle, Mallory said he knows wide-receivers coach Frisman Jackson from shared time at Akron together. However, he emphasized that's not why Rochelle was signed by Seattle.
"He got the opportunity because of who he is," Mallory said of Rochelle. "I've talked to Frisman as a friend, but he didn't do me any favors."
Mallory complimented Rochelle, saying he's as good of a player as he's ever seen, and Mallory was a coach at Wyoming during NFL star Josh Allen 's time there.
Former ISU wide-receivers coach Tito Overton noted how Rochelle is a former quarterback and how he always likes the mentality of former QBs.
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"They have great hands," Overton pointed out. "They catch the ball every play."
Overton said Rochelle's understanding of coverages helped him succeed. However, he noted at the professional level, Rochelle will have to sit down and study on his own because they don't get to sit down and meet with the guys every day.
"For example, with the Panthers minicamp, we got an install the night before, maybe about 30 plays and a couple of formations, and I had to memorize and rehearse some of the things, because the next day we practiced those actual plays that they gave us," Rochelle said.
Rochelle said the work with that right now could be long, but that he just dedicates a couple hours every night, or on the weekends just to review the installs and go over the plays.
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"Ultimately if you know what you're doing, you're going to have confidence no matter what," Rochelle said. "So just going in seeing what I have to do for the day, then creating a little time for myself to be able to go through the plays and rehearse the things that I'm going to be asked to do."
Overton said he thinks one thing that will help him is his experience in the Big Ten Conference.
"What you see now at the professional level is a lot of routes or option routes based on post-snap rotation or post-snap coverage on what the defense is doing, so you have to be able to adapt on the fly and make a decision quickly," Overton said.
"The offense that we ran at Indiana State in '25 was mixed in with vertical choice, air raid, so you're making your decision at a certain depth."
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He said that will help Rochelle at the NFL level.
Overton said Rochelle bet on himself transferring to ISU from Rutgers as he put the work in and that it worked out for him. Overton said it comes down to the right fit and situation where Rochelle can truly succeed.
"You have to give [him] an opportunity, get the ball in his hands, and just let him play, he has so much natural feel to the game," Overton said.
He emphasized however, the need to study film, put the time in and get on the same page as the coordinator and quarterback to understand what's going on, on the other side of the ball. Overton said that will allow Rochelle to be a better player.
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Rochelle said he's never not played to his abilities.
"It's always different when you're going into a different environment, and it's like the fear of the unknown," Rochelle said. "My first minicamp with the Carolina Panthers was as real as it gets. You're out there with guys who got drafted in the first round, second round, third round, and so on, as well as some of the guys that are already on the team, so being able to go out there and just make plays, be comfortable in that system."
He thinks that experience gave him the confidence he had going into Seattle.
According to Rochelle, one of the most surreal moments with Seattle so far was sitting in a meeting and seeing Cooper Kupp who he has since been able to talk to and pick his brain a bit. He said he saw Sam Darnold as well walking around the building. He said Kupp told him to let the plays come to him and to learn from mistakes that he'll make.
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"It's honestly a blessing," Rochelle said.
As far as adjusting to being with the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, Rochelle said he doesn't even have to watch film in the sense of just being in the rooms with the guys seeing the culture that they've already built.
"You can just feel it," Rochelle said. "You can tell that this is a really good team. I'm just excited to be a part of it, be able to learn from some guys, and ultimately the end goal is to be able to help contribute to get another one."
By one, Rochelle was referring to another Super Bowl, which if they were to win one while he's there, it'd be the third in franchise history.
