Roderick Perry II: Love the Game of Football

Roderick Perry II is a Defensive Lineman for the Nashville Kats. The former NFL player has had a stellar season for the Kats and helped lead them to the Arena Crown Championship Game. Nashville will take on the Albany Firebirds Saturday, June 28th at 1:00 p.m. ET on VICETV. 

A Variety of Sports

Roderick Perry II was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Maria Lyon and Roderick Perry Sr. He grew up playing just about every sport imaginable. Bowling, golf, and soccer were among the things he competed in. His favorite sport as a youngster was boxing. It wasn’t until high school that he really got into football more. He’d played all his life, but that’s when he fell in love with the game. 

Perry also played lacrosse, ran track, and wrestled in high school. He’s a two-time regional champion wrestler, and as a Senior, he won the 2016 North Carolina 4A State Championship as a heavyweight wrestler. Off the field, he was a four-time Academic All-Conference with a GPA higher than 3.0. Perry believes that wrestling has had a significant impact on his football career. It helped him learn leverage and bend, as well as how to use a guy's weight against him. The hand fighting you face in the trenches was another great thing wrestling helped him with.

From College to the NFL

When it came time for college, Roderick chose to attend South Carolina State University. He spent four years with the Bulldogs. As a redshirt Junior in 2019, he recorded 34 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and was graded 91.1 on Pro Football Focus. That season was in 2019, then, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. His coaches advised him to transfer somewhere that would play a 2020 season, and could showcase himself for the NFL. Perry chose to transfer to the University of Illinois. He broke his ankle in the second-to-last game of the year and would have missed all of the prep for the NFL and OTAs. So, he decided to come back for one final season to get his stock up. 

He did just that, recording 25 tackles, 14 solo, and two sacks. Perry was signed by the Cleveland Browns for the 2022 season as an undrafted free agent. He dressed for four games and appeared in two games against the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders. He recorded a tackle in each one. In 2023, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks and spent time with them in training camp, and played for the team all through the preseason. What was it like playing in the NFL? “It’s like, you ask for a 10-piece nugget and they give you a 15-piece, you know?” Perry chuckled as he answered the question. “You get spoiled.” 

Through 3 games of preseason the #Seahawks have given up 3.4 ypc to RBs

Back ups v back ups, yes, but good to see tweaks made to the run fit mechanics bear fruit so quickly -- Carroll going back to his roots

And it helps that depth like Roderick Perry has emerged at NT too pic.twitter.com/l7Vxii8WNQ

— under zone x (@cmikesspinmove) August 27, 2023

Indoor Football

After being released from the Seahawks, a friend suggested checking out indoor football and Perry found himself playing for the Duke City Gladiators. After a few games in Duke City, it was off to the Arizona Rattlers. Roderick played the rest of the season with the Rattlers and helped lead the team to the 2024 IFL championship. Getting to play for a championship in his first year in indoor football was a great experience that he enjoyed. While he’s not a very emotional guy, winning that championship meant a lot to him. To keep playing at this level, Perry said, “You really gotta love the game of football.” And he certainly does. 

When he got the opportunity to come play for the Nashville Kats coaching staff, including the legendary Darren Arbet, it was a no-brainer for Perry. Jeff Fisher’s connection to the team and league was a huge bonus for the star Defensive Lineman. He’s already used his championship-winning performance from last year to help get the Nashville Kats to the first-ever Arena Crown. Now he wants to use that championship experience to help push this team over the edge. 

Getting to Know Roderick

When it comes to gameday, Roderick likes to stay pretty relaxed and keep a chill mindset. He does watch highlight videos to get himself hyped up. Sometimes he’ll watch Mike Tyson, Aaron Doland, Reggie White, Geno Atkins, Grady Jarrett, and guys with similar builds and playing styles to what he has. Sometimes he’ll just flip on Key and Peele to keep it lighthearted and laugh a little, ease his mind. 

Off the field, Perry is a go-with-the-flow type of guy. He doesn’t mind slowing down and getting a pedicure, manicure, and treating himself. Whatever the group wants to do, he’s in for it. Mini golf, Top Golf, Bowling, he’s up for just about any activity. He’s loved spending the season in Nashville and compared the town to a country version of Las Vegas. 

After football, Perry wants to chase his entrepreneurial mind. He wants to start a business, but he isn’t sure just yet what that’ll be. Hopefully, that’s many years down the road as he continues to chase this game he loves. He’s not changing anything in his routine this week as he prepares for the championship game. Just focus and do his thing. He wanted to thank the fans of Nashville, “We appreciate y'all, you really showed out this year. I wouldn’t mind playing for Nashville again (next year). I really love the fans here, they really support their sports teams.”