Spencer Rolland’s football journey brings him back to his home state after he signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings on April 27.
Rolland, an offensive lineman and Apple Valley High School graduate, played two seasons at Harvard University and two at North Carolina. He was not selected in the 2024 NFL Draft but was one of 17 undrafted free agents signed by the Vikings shortly after the draft ended. The team is expected to hold a rookie camp for draft picks and undrafted free agents in early May at the TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
Rolland, 6-foot-6 and 306 pounds, played offensive tackle in college but NFL.com draft analysts projected him as a guard in the pros. He is seeking to become the second recent AVHS alumnus to play offensive line in the NFL. Trey Pipkins is an offensive tackle with the Los Angeles Chargers and is entering his sixth season in the NFL.
After graduating from Apple Valley, Rolland spent four years at Harvard, majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in astrophysics. But he played only two football seasons. He did not appear in a game as a true freshman in 2018, and the Ivy League canceled its 2020 football season because of COVID-19.
He was first-team All-Ivy League in 2021 as well as Academic All-America. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in spring 2022, he had two seasons of football eligibility remaining and went to North Carolina as a graduate transfer. Rolland started 27 games over two seasons with the Tar Heels while studying for a master’s degree in business administration. He was honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2023.
Rolland was Apple Valley High School’s Excel Award winner in 2017 and played a role in the success of the Eagles’ football and basketball teams. A three-year letter-winner in football, he helped the football team reach the state playoffs twice and was a Mr. Football award finalist in his senior year. Rolland earned two letters in basketball and played for the Eagles’ 2017 state Class 4A championship team.
New coaches
• Derek Schlager has been named head girls cross country coach at Eastview High School. He has been a Lightning assistant coach the last four years and will succeed Jorjean Fischer, who is retiring after a 40-year coaching career.
Eastview qualified as a team for the state meet three of the four years Schlager has worked with the Lightning. He’s also an assistant coach for the ISD 196 Nordic skiing team and Eastview’s girls track and field team.
Before coming to Eastview, Schlager taught and coached at Burnsville High School. He was head coach of the Blaze’s Nordic skiing program for three years and was an assistant coach in boys cross country and girls track and field.
A state high school meet qualifier in cross country and Nordic skiing, Schlager went on to run at Northwestern College and was named captain of the Eagles’ cross country and track teams.
• Blake Nicols, who was head girls basketball coach at Andover High School, was named to the same position at Lakeville South.
Nicols is a Lakeville South graduate and former Cougars basketball player. He played college basketball at Bethel.
In six seasons at Andover, Nicols’ teams were 103-57. The Huskies were 24-6 in 2023-24, won the Class 4A, Section 7 championship and played in the state tournament for the first time since 2017.
Nicols also coaches in the Minnesota Fury club program.
He succeeds Angie Iverson-Ohnstad, who led the Lakeville South girls program for 13 years. The Cougars were 36-22 over the last two seasons and reached the Class 4A, Section 1 championship game both years.
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