Roper started his college coaching career as a student assistant for the Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1996-1998, before transferring to Ole Miss.
In addition to special teams, Roper coached the running backs and tight ends in his first two seasons with the Big Red, 2005 and 2006.
During his third and final year at Cornell, Roper switched to the defensive side of the ball, and coached the cornerbacks.
The playcall resulted in an interception by Chazz Surratt, preventing the Blue Devils from kicking a field goal to send the game to overtime.
[3] After the 2019 season in which Duke's offense was second to last in the league with 329.7 yards per game, Cutcliffe took play-calling duties from Roper.