There were few bright spots for Louisiana Tech last season.
Willie Roberts was one of them.
In his second season with the Bulldogs, the defensive back was tabbed First Team All-Conference USA and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award — which is awarded to the top defensive back in the country. LA Tech finished the season 3-9.
Roberts spent the first three years of his career in the FCS at Stephen F. Austin but found more success after he transferred. Now, he’ll be facing a long three days in late April as he waits to see if his name gets called at the 2024 NFL Draft.
Natural Player
Some guys are just football players. Roberts is one of them.
Defensive backs typically need to have a certain feel for the game, and Roberts has just that. He always finds himself in a position to make a play on the ball simply based on his understanding and awareness.
It’s not often he’s not in the right place:
Last season, Roberts had a league-high 12 pass breakups and added an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder also showcased his physicality plenty throughout his college career. He finished with 38 total tackles last season.
Roberts doesn’t tackle like your typical cornerback and isn’t scared of contact. At the line of scrimmage, he has no problems jamming receivers or being aggressive with them on their routes. For as much man coverage as the Bulldogs played, Roberts needed to be aggressive — and smart — in order to not be beaten on an island.
In fact, for as much man coverage that the Bulldogs played, Roberts was excellent, allowing just a 34.8% completion percentage:
Even though he played in CUSA, that’s still pretty good. Roberts’ best games of the year came against two of the best offenses he played against in SMU and Western Kentucky.
His instincts and ball skills are also a few things that stand out about his craft. This all goes back to his feel for the game and his athleticism. He finds a way to make a play on the ball and his stats back this up.
Lacking Size
Like many players coming from smaller programs, Roberts isn’t the biggest guy at the position. Even though he plays much bigger than he is, he won’t have as much success in the NFL being physical with WRs.
He also doesn’t have the greatest length, which will pose some troubles for him in press coverage against bigger wideouts when trying to jam and get off blocks.
Willie Roberts NFL Draft Projection
LA Tech has produced some solid cornerbacks the past few years including L’Jarius Sneed and Amik Robertson, who are both having a lot of success in the league. Sneed just won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and signed a $74.6M contract with Tennessee after being traded. Robertson has started 19 games for the Raiders over the last two seasons and is now with Detroit.
Those are some pretty big footsteps to follow, but Roberts has the potential to make a roster and earn some snaps in the future. If drafted, he will likely go in the sixth or seventh round.
