Growing into star

When a small senior class created an issue of depth in Jim Sharkey’s first year as coach of Ferris football, he enlisted the services of a 135-pound sophomore.

Thus began the career of Aaron Roberts, which has come to full flower over the past three seasons.

“When he started he was tiny,” Sharkey said. “But he was so athletic and we were a little thin. He was forced into duty.”

“Forced,” as in catching 14 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown on offense that rookie season. On defense, he had an interception that preserved the Saxons’ 7-3 win over Mead and helped send them to the playoffs.

Sharkey remembers it to this day.

“It was one-handed and he landed on his back,” Sharkey said. “He’s progressed from there.”

Last year, Roberts had 19 catches for 268 yards with a score, and carried the ball twice for 58 yards as the Yin to current Washington State University player Jared Karstetter’s Yang.

This year Roberts has moved from the Y receiver to Karstetter’s X spot, and early results in the Saxons’ 3-0 start have been spectacular. The senior athlete, now grown to 5-foot-11 and weighing 165 pounds, has already grabbed a league-leading 18 balls for 334 yards and four touchdowns. He also had an interception return for a score during his four TD game against North Central.

“Obviously, I’m pretty happy about it,” said Roberts of his start. “This year’s been really fun. The mission’s been kind of to prove what we can do without the class (that was) ahead of us.”

Roberts was called by one Saxons observer the toughest player he’s been around. During his career he’s played despite a spiral fracture of the leg, knee surgery and a broken elbow that required the insertion of pins. He obviously wasn’t deterred by his lack of size as a sophomore playing on varsity.

“I’ve never considered myself overly tough,” he said. “I can take a lot of stuff, but I characterize myself more as just a competitor. I like to win.”

It’s a statement echoed by his father, Joe, who even took the “competitor” comment a step further.

“He’s a miserably competitive kid,” said dad, who was a second-team All-Big Sky strong safety at Montana State. “He’s always been that way.”

The numbers speak for themselves and during his three seasons of football, Ferris is 22-3 to date.

Sharkey said that Aaron runs a consistent 4.5 40-yard dash and, like his older brother Joey, is still growing and maturing. Joey, who will run track at MSU this year after two walk-on seasons of football, grew 2 or 3 inches after high school, to 6-3, according to his father.

“Aaron always was quick – this summer in a passing tournament he was running by Pac-10 recruits – and has tremendous hand-eye coordination,” Sharkey said. “And he’s a football kid. He really loves the game – loves practice, loves every part of it.”

Roberts has received football interest from Big Sky schools – which seems logical for the son of someone who had a 97-yard interception touchdown return while co-captaining the Bobcats’ 1984 season that ended in a Division I-AA national title – as well as Penn in the Ivy League.

Aaron likes the offensive side of the ball more, although he’s starting at safety this year. Since he was little, he always wanted to be a football player.

“It bothered me a little my sophomore year, because I didn’t know if I’d be big enough,” he said. “Just watching my brother grow, and, when he graduated, keep growing, I knew if I worked hard things would work out.”

His goals are more team related than individual. This year’s Ferris senior class wants to step out of the shadows of last year’s and leave a legacy of its own.