In the final scene of the 2000 football movie The Replacements, as “Heroes” by The Wallflowers plays, Washington Sentinels head coach Jimmy McGinty, played by the late Gene Hackman, sums up the experience the Sentinels’ replacement players enjoyed by stating, “Every athlete dreams of a second chance. These men lived it.”
McGinty’s statement rings true but seldom do athletes get to live it. You can count Atkinson County Rebels assistant football coach and former Coffee Trojan Brandon Roe as one of the lucky ones who get that fleeting second chance. Roe, a standout receiver and defensive back at Coffee High under former head coach Robby Pruitt, played college football at Jacksonville University and Valdosta State University. After college, he played for a couple of arena football teams before a torn ACL ended his career.
Or so he thought. Roe, now 30, has just signed a contract with the Sioux City (Iowa) Bandits of the National Arena League.
After graduating from Coffee High in 2014, Roe played for Kerwin Bell at Jacksonville University. He played in 11 games as a freshman and recorded 17 tackles and four interceptions. As a sophomore, he started all 11 games and tallied 31 tackles, one interception, and a pass breakup.
When Coach Bell left Jacksonville for Valdosta State University, Roe followed. In 2016 as a junior, Roe had 56 tackles, eight deflected passes, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries (one of which he returned for a touchdown), and five interceptions. His senior year, he had 45 tackles, five interceptions (including one he returned for a touchdown), and six pass deflections.
After his playing career ended at Valdosta State, Roe played for the Indoor Football League’s Nebraska Danger and Sioux Falls Storm. In 2019, he was the IFL’s Week 7 Defensive Player of the Week. He was also All-IFL Second Team Defense for the 2019 season. That year, he recorded 45 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, six interceptions, and one pass breakup.
After playing for the Danger, Roe signed with the Storm. And that’s where things went awry. “I tore my ACL in the second game of the season. It was the best game of my life, too. I came back home and I started my training business,” he says.
Roe has been training athletes and non-athletes alike for several years. He has also worked as a high school assistant football coach, most notably with Tucker Pruitt when he was at Fitzgerald. This year, he took a position as a paraprofessional and wide receivers/defensive backs coach at Atkinson County High School. He plans to finish his education degree and become a teacher and a coach.
Somewhere in there, he’s also going to find time to make a go at one more year of gridiron glory. A former teammate plays with the Bandits. He knew Roe was in shape and could still play. He mentioned Roe to Sioux City’s coach, who then contacted Roe. They worked out a deal and Roe will get that elusive second chance. “They knew what I could do. I want to finish things off right. If I can get in there and stay healthy, which I’m sure I will, I’ll be fine,” he says.
Roe reports to the team in 2026. The season begins in March and all current teams are located west of the Mississippi River. He also loves what he’s doing in Atkinson County and he plans to continue working down there even with his NAL obligations in Iowa.
“I’m 30 years old. There are players way older than me in the league. I just want to finish it off right,” he says.