LOGAN, Utah – Jontrell Rocquemore is as goal-oriented as they come. It's what drives him to be the best in everything he does.
 
"I have a lot of goals and aspirations, and if anything, football has taught me to dream big and reach for your goals," Rocquemore said. "There are going to be a lot of people that doubt you and a lot of people that will tell you, 'You can't do this,' but through hard work and preparation, and just staying on a straight path, it will turn out the way you would like it to."
 
Such has been the case for Rocquemore's senior season at Utah State. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound safety/linebacker has played lights out on defense for the Aggies as he ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 53, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, to go along with two interceptions, four quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
 
"He is a very versatile player and has a good understanding of route concepts," said USU defensive coordinator/safeties coach Keith Patterson. "Being a former safety, he understands what's going on behind him, as well as getting better against the run. He uses his athleticism and has been an explosive blitzer for us, and I'm very pleased with his progress.
 
"He is a smart young man, he understands the game of football, he plays under control and he doesn't move himself out of position very often. He is just going to get better as the season moves on."
 
When you consider Rocquemore had just 13 tackles as a junior in 2017, his numbers this season are already off the charts. To be fair, though, he was coming off a broken leg the previous year and pulled a hamstring in Week 3 at Wake Forest, which kept him out the next three games.
 
"I had to battle back to where I wanted to be," Rocquemore said. "Actually, I was battling back to who I want to be as a player and who I want to be as a person, and who I want to be after football. Wherever the journey takes me is where I have to kind of grow up, and it's crazy because as a 17-year-old freshman who came in here, I was probably one of the most mature guys of my friend group, but I was the youngest.
 
"There was so much stuff that I had to learn, and carrying over to this year, I play with a different aggression. It's not that I feel like I'm better than everybody, I just feel like I've worked and I'm applying all of the things that I've learned over the past years that are starting to trigger in my head."
 
It certainly shows and the Aggies are reaping all the benefits.
 
In the season opener at then-No. 11 Michigan State, Rocquemore gave the Spartans fits all night as he finished with nine tackles – one off his career high – including 1.0 sacks.
 
Against Air Force in the Mountain West opener for both schools, Rocquemore racked up a career-best 13 tackles, including a career-high-tying 2.0 tackles for loss, in the 42-32 victory for Utah State.
 
In USU's 45-20 win at BYU, Rocquemore recorded a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery all on the same play.
 
"The birth of my play, I feel, came at Air Force last year in the last regular season game," Rocquemore said. "It has just been skyrocketing and on an incline ever since."
 
Rocquemore is also playing more of an outside linebacker role with the Aggies this year, a change that occurred during spring ball.
 
"It's exciting," Rocquemore said. "The way I think about it is playing safety at five yards and I can't be wrong, really. Some plays, I do my own thing, but I have great guys in the back end to make me right if I do make mistakes. It allows me to play a lot more aggressive. It's great.
 
"And obviously, the way my mindset works, is I know the defense. I've been here five years and while there have been minor tweaks, I know our scheme. I understand what we're supposed to do and things like that, so for the coaches to have a bigger-bodied dude that they can put in the position to be a finesse player and also a power player, I get the best of both worlds."
 
Rocquemore made his presence felt in the program in one of the very first games he played in. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he returned a fumble 97 yards for a touchdown at Washington on Sept. 17, which is the second-longest fumble return in school history. It is tied for the fourth-longest fumble return for a touchdown in Mountain West history.
 
Not only has Rocquemore got it done on the gridiron during his time at Utah State, but he also excels in the classroom. After all, the son of Ron and Chenetha Rocquemore, who is majoring in both sociology and political science, has earned academic all-Mountain West honors three times.
 
"The reason I am getting the double major is because I wasn't just satisfied with a sociology degree," Rocquemore said. "I wanted to actually do something that is going to put me in the best position to do the things I want to do, which is change the world. When football is all said and done, I will go to law school. I don't know which one yet and I haven't really put too much thought into it."
 
And after law school? He has even bigger aspirations.
 
"From law school, I want to go and be an attorney somewhere for a while, but the ultimate goal is to be a judge," said Rocquemore, who is on track to graduate in the spring of 2019. "I want to be a federal judge and one day work up to the Supreme Court, or something like that at the top. That is the plan."
 
Prior to joining the program at Utah State, Rocquemore was tabbed his team's defensive MVP and earned Class 5A all-District 11 first-team honors at safety as a senior at McKinney (Texas) High School after recording 74 tackles, including 10.0 tackles for loss, to go along with four interceptions and three forced fumbles.
 
Rocquemore also played basketball for the Lions and competed in the long jump on the track & field team.
 
After graduating from McKinney HS, the 17-year-old Rocquemore made his way to Utah State, where he has enjoyed every minute of his time.
 
"It's been an amazing journey," he said. "There has been a lot of growth and maturity on my journey. I made strides putting the pieces together and making my time here valuable, and I'm really appreciative. Being here for five years, I've been around a lot of players. A lot of teammates have come and gone, but throughout the whole five years, each new year tops the last year. I've built a lot of friendships and that is something that I'm proud of and will cherish for the rest of my life."
 
Even before he arrived at Utah State, Rocquemore always had a connection with the 45th state. That's because he was born on July 24 – Pioneer Day.
 
"The crazy thing about it is I had never spent a Pioneer Day in Utah until I turned 22 this year," Rocquemore said. "Every year, I went home or went on trips, and this was the first year that I spent Pioneer Day in Utah, and it was actually pretty cool. My little brother's birthday is on the Fourth of July, so he gets all of the parades and fireworks, and then finally I get a little parade and some fireworks, too, for my birthday.
 
"My little brother (Jalon) actually came down and spent my birthday with me and we went out and watched some of the parades, and my girlfriend (Shelby) and I actually got a puppy, a Goldendoodle that we named Lemon."
 
Ironically, Shelby graduated from Lehi High School meaning Rocquemore, who was born on Pioneer Day, is dating a Pioneer.
 
"You know, I never put those pieces together like that, but when she gets home, I'm definitely going to let her know," he said with a laugh.