Roman Buchanan

Classroom

Roman Buchanan has a 3.23 cumulative grade-point average entering his senior season. He has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll following each of his first three years in the program.

Character

Buchanan was chosen by the coaching staff to wear the No. 5 jersey, an honor given to each year to a senior in the program in memory of former Jaguar Anthony Mostella. Coach Jones explained why: “We have a lot of guys who are very deserving of wearing No. 5, but it was a real easy decision this year; I didn’t have to think but about three seconds to know who the guy was going to be. Roman is that perfect player. He’s never missed a meeting or been late for anything the last four years, he’s a heck of a football player, he’s a competitor, he’s smart, and he treats everybody with respect just like Anthony Mostella did.” Buchanan also became the first member of the program to be named team captain as a junior since the program began competing at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.

Community

Buchanan has represented the program through visits with patients at the USA Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and twice assisted at the annual pancake breakfast hosted by the Wilmer Hall Children’s Home in Mobile. He is a member of the leadership team working with Team Impact that has helped Colby Sawyer—a former patient at USA Women’s and Children’s Hospital recovering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia—become a member of the Jaguar football program. Buchanan also has spoken to the basketball team at Enterprise High School in his hometown.

Competition

Buchanan was selected preseason second-team All-Sun Belt Conference at linebacker this summer despite having played safety his first three years at the collegiate level. He also was a second-team All-Sun Belt honoree following his junior season and was chosen as the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week following the opening game of this season after posting a career-high 12 tackles and breaking up a pass in USA’s first-ever victory—a 21-20 come-from-behind decision at Mississippi State—over an SEC school. Buchanan made 10 or more stops in each of the Jags’ first two games after accomplishing the feat once his first three years at the collegiate level.

Buchanan is one of four players in school history to surpass 200 career tackles, and at nomination time was tied for fourth with 13 passes broken up—one shy of tying the school record in the category—and tied for sixth with three interceptions.