Roberts Path is Confusing But Now Final

From Warner Robins, Ga. to Scooba, Miss. to Miami, Okla. and, potentially, onto Norman, Okla. may not be the route most traveled by major college prospects but for Oklahoma's latest commitment Austin Roberts it was the way he felt things were supposed to go.

"I feel there is a reason for everything and I couldn't be happier about my commitment. I'm ready to be a 'Boomer Sooner'," Roberts said of his late Tuesday night commitment.

The pledge of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M product was in no small part because of his relationship with Oklahoma's first year defensive line coach Diron Reynolds.

"He was up front about me needing to take care of my work," he said. "I like all of his NFL experience. He is telling me things that NFL guys are learning while I'm still in college. That's hard to pass up.

"My favorite thing about him was that he seemed like he cared about me, he was making sure about my grades and was checking in on me. Some coaches you didn't get that feeling that they cared, you know?"

When Reynolds was hired many thought he would be a key part of reinvigorating a 3-4 defense that had, at least statistically, regressed in 2014. However talking to Roberts it seems that the Sooners may be going into a completely different, and altogether more familiar, direction. Though in listening to Roberts there is still an impression that the three-man front isn't dead in Norman.

"They want me to play defensive end in kind of a 5-tech thing. They are going to play more four man fronts and think I could fit outside there," he explained.

The news of Roberts' commitment has been met with some hesitation as many are anxious to see whether or not he will be able to get to Norman following two summer online courses that he has already begun.

"I've already started them, I've got a 'B' in each class. It's an English class and a history class so I'll be fine. It's just finishing them. They'll be done on July 17," he said. "I'm just ready to get done with them so I can get to Oklahoma."

Roberts may have committed late into the evening on Tuesday night but is clear that he had known which way he was leaning for a few weeks, and perhaps really since his visit to Norman.

"I just got along with all the guys so well. I met Charles Tapper, Zack Sanchez, and Jamal Danley," he said of the trip he took with teammate and Sooners 2016 cornerback offer Maurice Chandler.

"I knew Danley from when we were at East (Mississippi C.C.) together (in the 2013 season). He was saying he liked it and that the coaches are real genuine with you."

So how does he see his chance of competing with Oklahoma's talent already on campus?

"The coaches told me they expect me to come in and compete and there is no doubt they already have a lot of talent there but I feel like I can come in and help," he said.

Roberts, a player with three years to play two, chose the Sooners over Nebraska but at various points in his recruiting adventure has held offers from LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, and numerous others.