Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1082442
P L A Y E R B I O S WHAT HE DID As a senior last fall, Rober- son threw for 2,433 yards, with 29 touch- down passes and only six interceptions. He completed 56 percent of his attempts while adding another 314 yards and three touch- downs rushing. For his career, he =nished with 4,972 yards passing and 887 rushing. He totaled 60 passing touchdowns and seven rushing scores and was intercepted only 12 times. During his two seasons as the starting QB, DePaul Catholic went 15-8 and won the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 3 state championship in 2017. With James Franklin in attendance, the Spartans de- feated St. Joseph in the =nal, 7-3, as Rober- son threw a 6-yard pass just before hal@ime for the game's only touchdown. WHAT HE WON Originally ranked a low- end three-star prospect, Roberson now has four stars from Rivals.com and is consid- ered the ninth-best dual-threat quarter- back in the country. He comes in at No. 8 overall in Rivals' New Jersey rankings. Fol- lowing his senior season, Roberson was named a Mini-Maxwell recipient while also earning =rst-team All-State honors for New Jersey's Non-Public leagues. He won second-team All-State honors in 2017. WHERE HE VISITED Roberson collected his scholarship o?er from the Nittany Lions in July 2017 a@er camping with the sta?. A few months later, he became the second player to join Penn State's Class of 2019, verbally committing in October of that year, several days a@er he attended the Lions' White Out game against Michigan. Before making his decision, Roberson checked out Boston College, North Carolina, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. Kentucky, Maryland and Syracuse also extended o?ers. QUOTABLE Bryan Murray, DePaul Catholic associate head coach: "He has great control of the huddle, and our guys believe in him. He doesn't get rattled at all and always leads by example. One thing we really love about him is that he really takes to our coaching. He's always trying to im- prove and is never afraid of competition. He really is everything that you look for in a quarterback, both mentally and charac- ter-wise. His football IQ is pretty high. He understands the game really well." PHIL'S TAKE Roberson is listed at 5- foot-11, 193 pounds, but just like Trace McSorley, his size doesn't seem to create many problems for him throwing from the pocket. He throws the ball equally well from the pocket or rolling out. Roberson has a nice, quick release and throws a very catchable ball. When the pocket breaks down, he has the mobility and athleticism to create plays. He doesn't appear to be quite as athletic as Michael Johnson Jr., but he's got the tools to run Penn State's run-pass option of- fense. A January enrollee, he will be one of =ve scholarship QBs taking part in spring practice. ■ PASSING GRADE Roberson lifted DePaul Catholic to a state champi- onship as a junior. He went 15-8 in his two seasons as the team's start- ing quarter- back. Photo courtesy of Ri- vals.com TA'QUAN ROBERSON RIVALS ★★★★ | POS QB | HT 5-11 | WT 193 | HOME Orange, N.J. | SCHOOL DePaul Catholic Rivals.com