No backing down

You know you have a good deal going when your best player is also your hardest worker. That observation about Colville running back/linebacker John Roberts comes from his coach, Randy Cornwell.

“Some kids make excuses to get out of a workout,” said Cornwell. “John made excuses to get into a workout. That’s what caught my eye.”

Roberts, a 6-foot, 195-pound load with above-average speed, has been a Colville rushing leader since he cracked the lineup as a then-smaller sophomore. He’s done it with relative economy, averaging 7.5 yards or more per carry in each of his three seasons.

His talent has been noticed. Colleges including Washington State, Idaho and Eastern Washington are among his suitors.

According to Roberts, it was almost destiny that football would consume him.

“Dad grew up in Nebraska,” he said. “That should explain most of it right there.”

Kent Roberts, a Colville Middle School teacher, didn’t play football, but as a Nebraska native grew up in a state where football is a way of life. He was a Huskers undergraduate when they won their first two of five national titles.

“Every kid was a Big Red fan,” Kent said.

The former attorney-turned-educator said he introduced John to football but never pushed him.

“My attitude about sport is different,” he said. “I told him if he didn’t like football, don’t play. He just took it and went. I could tell I had a live one when he asked to watch the NFL draft when he was in fourth grade.”

The year was John’s introduction to tackle football in a home-grown Pop Warner-type league sponsored by the local Kiwanis.

“Ever since I put on pads it felt like it was something natural for me to do,” the Indians senior said. “It was something I loved.”

Consumed by football, he was setting goals with a physical education teacher by middle school, knowing, he said, “what I had to do over the next six years to get where I wanted to go.”

He became a weight room devotee and a football film aficionado, said his dad, who envisions John one day becoming a college coach. Both father and coach add that his empathy for teammates and motivational skills stand out.

When Roberts arrived at the high school, Cornwell said, “To tell you the truth he was just a spindle as a freshman.”

But running backs coach Mike Jutila told Cornwell they had something special.

“He had good speed and we all knew that,” Cornwell said. “But when I first became impressed with John was in the weight room.”

Roberts wasn’t ticketed to start or be the featured back as a 165-pound sophomore. But he ended up starting the first game, “and we couldn’t get rid of him,” Cornwell said.

He finished with 482 yards on 65 carries. Last year he gained 1,381 yards on 175 carries, within 40 yards of a school record, and scored 15 touchdowns, a single-season record.

To date, Roberts has gained 1,038 yards on 103 rushes, more than 10 yards per attempt with 15 more TDs. One, a 94-yard burst in Pullman, sealed the important victory three weeks ago.

Cornwell said the play wasn’t particularly well-blocked and Roberts almost was tackled for a loss. Twenty yards into the run, he made two more defenders miss and was off to the races.

“As a sophomore he ran around people with his speed,” said Cornwell. “As a junior he started to run into people, and this year he’s running through people. We keep saying we’ll give him more carries, but we run out of game.”

Roberts insists that his offensive success is because of Colville’s line.

“Every good football player knows where it all starts: blocking and tackling,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I am without them. They’re a solid group.”

Despite his prowess it may be defense – which he is playing for the first year – that may become Roberts’ college ticket.

“Over the last year I learned to play outside linebacker and a little bit of Mac (middle linebacker),” Roberts said. “It’s kind of gone from there.”

When he went down to the University of Idaho for a workout and Dennis Erickson projected he’d play linebacker for them, “that’s when Cornwell was convinced,” Roberts said.

Colville is off to its best start since the 1960s, according to Roberts. That’s saying something as the Indians chase their fifth playoff appearance this decade. The Indians are 6-0 heading into this Friday’s home game Great Northern League showdown against fellow unbeaten Clarkston.

Expect the hard-working, quietly confident Roberts to attract a lot of attention.

“He has talent,” said Cornwell. “God gave him a pretty good deal, but he works really, really hard to maximize it.”