It didn’t take long for schools to take notice of 2014 Plant WR Austin Roberts. He received his first offer on April 23. Less than a month later Roberts has pulled in five offers.
His latest: the University of Florida, is arguably his biggest offer to date.
“I feel extremely blessed that one of the best schools in the SEC thinks I can play with them,” Roberts said of his offer from the Gators. “I like what I’m hearing from coach Lewis about how they incorporate their tight end into the offense.”
Currently a 6-foot 2-inch 195-pound WR, Roberts will likely grow into a tight end, which is what his father, Alfredo Roberts, played at the University of Miami and in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys.
With his father, his family roots run deep at the University of Miami. But, he also has ties to Florida.
“My cousin was almost a a high school valedictorian chose Florida over a ton of schools,” Roberts said. “When I told her [I was offered by Florida] she just started screaming in the middle of the night. Shes been bugging me about Florida saying ‘you need to be good enough for Florida to offer you’ so shes excited.”
Academics are extremely important to Roberts. He has received a lot of early attention from Ivy League schools like Stanford and says he needs to learn more about the academics in Gainesville before he can make a full assessment of the school.
“[Academics] will be a major factor in my college decision.”
—
Roberts got his first offer in late April from Iowa.
“It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Roberts said when he picked up his first offer. “I’m literally holding back tears of joy.”
Indiana and in-state power Miami followed just days later before Purdue and Florida extended him verbal offers.
—
A key factor in Plant’s 8A state championship Roberts will be enrolling at Carmel (Ind.) High School. His father accepted a coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts – he was previously with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Roberts leaves June 9, but says that his relocation won’t factor in his decision whether or not he returns to the Sunshine State for college.
“It won’t be bad,” he said of the possibility of attending college in the state of Florida. “I’ll still have all my family and friends in Florida, plus all my dad’s family still lives in Miami.”
–
Kyle is a recruiting analyst for Big County Preps. You can email him at Bennett@BigCountyPreps.com and follow him on Twitter @KyleBennettBCP