Derek Roback Offers

[Orestes]

College recruiters care very little about high school production. They care somewhat, but just enough to make sure the guy can play some football.

It is all about the measurables. How tall is he? Check. How much does he weigh? Check. How much weight could he put on his frame without losing flexibility, speed, agility, and explosiveness? Check. How fast is he? Check. How agile is he? Check. How high can he jump? Check. How explosive is he? Check. How well does he turn his hips? Check. How strong is he? Check.

How are his grades? Check. Is he smart? Check. Is he coachable? Check. Is he mentally tough? Check. Does he enjoy playing enough to gut it out when he isn't a factor in the gameplan? Check. Is he ethical? Check.


He has a D1 offer. Ohio State is looking at him. This is not a guess. Will they offer? I'm not saying they will, but they are looking him over as a safety/WR prospect.


SEO haters..... "I was better than Roback and he played in the Big10. Just because of his dad I bet. I Hate Hate Hate those from SEO who get a shot at success in life."

I see this all the time.....

The college coaches think they can teach football. They just want athletes to teach.


You guys can have your 5'6" 160 lb superstar who runs a 4.8 40 when timed legitimately and rushes for 1,500 yards. Jim Tressel yawns.

[hbk2016]

1. College coaches could care less whether he wins, plays, participates, attends or watches a Waverly High School Football game on tv. If he has the intangibles, size - speed, etc. and does well at the big time camps he will get a ride.

The levels and competition in HS football vary too much for coaches to get excited about. If you do well at the camps against other D1 prospects you will get offers.

I know everyone in southern ohio likes to think HS Football is the most important thing ever but in the recruiting process it doesn't mean that much. It is much like kids that do well in AAU basketball get far more offers than kids who do well on a mediocre HS team.

Whether you agree or disagree those are the facts.

Mr. Roback is a 4.0 student, has the size, strength, and speed that you can't teach. He will be offered D1 rides regardless of how you perceive his HS career to be.

Anyone who thinks one guy can carry a football team has probably never played the game.

[tiger_balla]

Derek will need to get out to many camps and colleges in the spring where they will measure, time, interview and workout athletes under direction of college coaches. Residing in southern Ohio is not an area DI coaches frequently visit. If a player wants exposure they must get to camps/combines to be compared to players from larger schools. Right, wrong or not this is the reality of recruiting.
College coaches can visit 20 athletes in one day in Cincy, Cleveland, etc.. vs. spending a a day driving to southern Ohio to see one or two athletes. It's a numbers game and makes it a little more difficult for players in rural areas to be visible to D1 recruiters, not impossible just more challenging!

[JohnKnight]

He has been to the camps and excelled! You have to get most of that done before your senior year. He is a known commodity and has visited OU,ND, OSU, Purdue, UC, Iowa and had many other invites. He is being recruited as an athlete. That is what the big time programs do.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2 ... ting-radar

http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboar ... PID=165293

[D Owens]

JohnKnight:

He has been to the camps and excelled! You have to get most of that done before your senior year. He is a known commodity and has visited OU,ND, OSU, Purdue, UC, Iowa and had many other invites. He is being recruited as an athlete. That is what the big time programs do.

Yeah, but what do those College guys know? The REAL experts are here on this thread and they are TRYING to clue us in SO LISTEN UP!

[tl895]

sound like someone is trying to build this kid into another chris smith on here

[smurray]

No one is trying to compare him to anyone and it really doesn't matter what people think "on here".
The only thing that really matters is with those who do not read this site and the ignorant comments from un-educated posters. Notice I did not say stupid. Stupid is not willing to educate yourself. Ignorant is just being un-educated on a specific subject, that you can improve.
It is ignorant to think Derek Roback is not one the most gifted "athletes" from southern Ohio in a long time. Like Urban said of Tim Tebow last night (paraphrase), "Is he the best QB, or the best passer, or the best runner? I don't know about that but he is THE BEST ATHLETE I have ever coached."
Derek Roback may not have the best arm, be the best passer, be the best runner, be the best etc., but he is for sure one the best ATHLETES to come around here in some time. He has another year to get bigger, stonger, faster and even smarter than his 4.0.
It is IGNORANT to evaluate his talent based on the success of the Waverly Tigers. Had he been the QB last year he would be the best thing since sliced bread. That O-line was gone this year and he was running for his life most passing downs. Most of his rushing yardage was not designed runs but scrambles. Once people saw what he did to Piketon they knew all they had to do was stop him to stop Waverly. I don't care how good you are, 1 guy can't beat 11 when they know what's going on.
Say what you want on this board but rest assured, Derek Roback will be fine and will playing ball at a D1 school somehwere, if he wants to.

[roundingthird]

Very well said tigers!

[Bleeding Red]

He has been to the camps and excelled! You have to get most of that done before your senior year. He is a known commodity and has visited OU,ND, OSU, Purdue, UC, Iowa and had many other invites. He is being recruited as an athlete. That is what the big time programs do.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2 ... ting-radar

http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboar ... PID=165293

DI Qb's, athletes, whatever you want to call them, win more than 4 games. Period.

[smurray]

The Detroit Lions are winless, I guess none of them could have been D1 athletes, ignorant posting.

[FarAwayFalcon]

The Detroit Lions are winless, I guess none of them could have been D1 athletes, ignorant posting.

No that's ignorant posting, the lions have team full of DI athletes, but they are playing against other DI athletes. This past year in the SOC, Roback was one of a very few if any DI athletes in the whole league! I do agree that 1 can't beat 11 though, no matter how good.

[eagles73Taylor]

He definately has the intangibles, size, speed, strength and grades. I dont think you fairly judge his ability on the number of games won. I also dont think college coaches look at the record either. That said, it will be interesting in his decision if he wants to be a QB, what school, or if he wants to go as an athlete and let the coaches put him where needed.

[Bleeding Red]

The Detroit Lions are winless, I guess none of them could have been D1 athletes, ignorant posting.

Ignorant posting to compare high school college prospects to the NFL. Duh!

[Snipe]

He will get what he works for so we will see ?

[smurray]

The point was you don't judge whether or not a high school athlete is D1 worthy based on his teams record, THAT IS IGNORANT!

[PirateFan_2010]

if i was in his situation, and getting looked at by colleges, i would move to a different school. if he is as good as people say, imagine him surrounded by a bunch of athletes who would make him look even better.

[FarAwayFalcon]

if i was in his situation, and getting looked at by colleges, i would move to a different school. if he is as good as people say, imagine him surrounded by a bunch of athletes who would make him look even better.

If I were a college coach, it would mean more to me that he stayed at the school he's went to all his life, I assume. Stuck it out through the hard times, had some loyalty, and put the team above his personal recognition.

[smurray]

What H.S. they play at how well that team does makes no difference. College scouts know talent when they see it and most of the looks do not happen at H.S. games.

[Flashing Cursor]

To D1 or not to D1 that is the question..

I was guilty a few years back at looking at the team surrounging a prominate player and saying he is overrated. That was Ben Hartsock. So be carefull what you say. That prediction makes me look far worse off then I really am. (I think??)

College coaches at any level are looking for the same thing.
1)intelligence
2)speed
3)size
4)potential
Roback has all of these.

From the conversations I have had with college level coaches in different sports they all kind of figure the same thing, "If they have the stuff I can't coach, we can teach them the rest".

Next.. Scholarships come in many different flavors (i.e. %athletic %academic). from the information gathered from JohnKnight and D_owens, Roback is not just a very good athlete he is an exceptional student (as was Ben Hartsock :-0). Figuring in academic $ limits the risk to the athletic dept budget. If he is a 4.0 GPA and a 27-28 ACT the schools academic contribution will be significant. He could basically get a full ride and cost the athletic dept. less than $5K/ year. That makes him even more recruitable.

Knowing these things I would not be one bit suprised to see him go Div.1 and on TV making all the naysayers glad their identity is anonymous on this forum.

[hbk2016]

Flashing Cursor - finally someone who makes some sense.