Seeing Notre Dame may not have been the sole motivation, but that’s exactly what Austin Roberts will get the chance to do when he visits South Bend for the Irish’s game against Stanford this weekend.
The 2014 wide receiver moved to Indianapolis from Tampa this summer, switching from Tampa’s Plant High School to Carmel High School. The 6-foot-2, 206-pound wide receiver/tight end already has offers from Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Iowa, Colorado and Stanford.
“It feels great,” Roberts said of the early attention. “It’s very humbling to be able to pick where I want to go to college. I’ve kind of always looked up to my past teammates who have gone on to play high-level Division-I football. Now I get the chance to be in their spot.”
One of the reasons for his visit to Notre Dame this weekend is to see his former Plant teammate, Drew Madhu suit up for the Cardinal.
“I had a friend from my team who went to Stanford,” Roberts said. “I saw the Notre Dame schedule and saw that they’re playing, so I figured I’d see if I could go.”
Roberts hasn’t had too much direct contact with the Irish, but his teammate was already scheduled to make the trip this weekend and informed the Notre Dame staff he'd be bringing a friend.
“They know I’m coming up with Chris Perkins, our running back,” Roberts said of the 2015 Carmel prospect. “He was invited and he told them that I was coming up with him.”
Roberts is excited about the chance to see a game in South Bend and has an appreciation for the reputation Notre Dame has both academically and athletically.
Roberts has been clocked at 4.51 in the 40-yard dash and colleges aren’t sure if he’ll stay at receiver or become a tight end.
“It depends on how I grow,” he said. “If I get taller and bigger, it’s going to be tight end, but if I stay like this, it’ll be receiver.”
His combination of size and speed obviously attracts college coaches, but Roberts adds, “I take pride in my blocking too.”
Roberts doesn’t have any type of timeline for a decision, but does know what he’s looking for in a school.
“I’m looking for things like academic integrity and campus lifestyle, those are the two main things,” he said. “I’ve checked out quite a few so far. I’ve been to Ohio State, Purdue, Miami, Florida and Stanford just to name a few.”
Roberts also has plans to be at Iowa’s home game against Penn State on Oct. 20th.
