Teammates poke fun at him about being unique, but Roberts prides himself on it
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
The atmosphere inside the tunnel before the Irish race onto the field can best be described as a bolt of electricity waiting to explode from the sky. Players bounce around the tunnel, hopping around, jumping into each other, and shouting motivational phrases to their teammates.
Ryan Roberts is different.
The fifth-year defensive end plants his feet and stands like a wall amidst an ocean of teammates. Sure, running out of the tunnel is a thrill. But Roberts would rather focus on something else.
"I love the energy, but I'm the only guy not jumping," he said. "All people think about all week is coming out of the tunnel. All I'm thinking about is that first drive."
The fact that Roberts contains his excitement in the tunnel while his teammates enthusiastically psyche themselves up shows that Roberts isn't your typical football player.
Trendbreaker
"He's kinda weird," Gerome Sapp said with a laugh. "But the thing that's funny about that is he knows he's weird and he's okay with being weird."
Roberts is the first person to admit he's not exactly like the rest of his teammates. He doesn't follow trends. He doesn't follow the crowd. He has his own set of priorities.
And his teammates love to point that out.
In fact, the Irish love to pick on Roberts for just about anything. When he dyes his hair red, they make fun of him. When he turns on his eccentric music, they make fun of him. When he talks about hanging out at a sushi bar, they make fun of him. When he shows up to class wearing a long-sleeve thermal shirt under a polo shirt, his teammates make fun of him. When he talks about soccer — a sport he played until he was a high school freshman — his teammates make fun of him.
"He's his own species," Glenn Earl said.
But Roberts doesn't pay too much attention to his teammates' ribbing. Everything he does has a purpose. He dyed his hair because he was bored. He listens to techno, rock, rap and pop because he likes all different kinds of music. He eats sushi because he likes it. He doesn't dress bad, just comfortably. And he calls soccer the best sport on earth — strong words coming from a football player.
"I don't do what a lot of people would expect me to do," Roberts said. "If you sit around doing what people expect you to do, then they never really know who you are as a person."
Roberts doesn't try to pretend he's something he's not, and his teammates enjoy the flavor the fifth-year senior brings to the Irish locker room. He's even earned a certain amount of respect for establishing himself as a different person.
"When he does something crazy, nothing surprises me anymore," Earl said. "Everyone accepts him for who he is and it kind of makes our team a fun group."
Gamebreaker
It seems appropriate that a guy with a different personality would get his chance on the field as a result of unusual circumstances.
Roberts had never played football until his freshman year of high school. One of his friends encouraged the 6-foot, 220-pound soccer player to give football a try. Roberts went to football practice, skipped soccer that afternoon, and never kicked a soccer ball around in a game again.
He came to Notre Dame as a linebacker who had returned kicks and punts in high school as well as starring as a tailback. But Irish coaches quickly switched Roberts from linebacker to defensive end, and Roberts was forced to sit and wait his turn behind established veterans Anthony Weaver and Grant Irons.
His career seemed to hit a low point the winter after his sophomore season, when Roberts needed back surgery. Doctors fused bone from his hip to bone on his spine and used four screws and two metal rods to stabilize his back.
Roberts could have taken the year off to rehabilitate. But he decided to add the metal implants because they would accelerate the healing process, and, less than six months after surgery, Roberts was doing full-contact drills.
It was a good thing he was ready. When Irons suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, Roberts was the only guy who could take his place.
"I had been practicing my hardest, and that's what I was preparing for," he said. "I just wanted to be healthy enough to participate and help out. I was forced to step into a starting role, and I did."
He filled Irons' shoes in a big way, recording a sack in his first four games, giving him confidence that he could excel at the college level.
The next season, Irons started ahead of Roberts again, but another Irons injury propelled Roberts into the lineup. Playing with Weaver, with nobody available to back them up during a game, was the highlight of Roberts' career.
"Know there was nobody coming in for us, pushing our hardest, knowing the other guy is going so hard, its great times," he said. "I worked hard to get into that position."
A torn MCL ended Roberts' season three games early, but the defensive end had made a statement — he was ready to step into his own spotlight.
Walking his own path
Roberts doesn't talk much on the field — he leaves that to his more verbose teammates. Instead, he impresses coaches and players with his quiet intensity and lead-by-example style of leadership.
"He's playing with a metal rod in his back," Sapp said. "If you see that and see the way he plays, that's inspirational right there."
Already this season, Roberts has accumulated eight sacks, four more than the next closest Irish defender. He also ranks sixth on the Irish — and first on the defensive line — with 31 tackles.
"He is a guy we can count on to make plays in the ballgame," Irish coach Tyrone Willingham said, "a guy in the locker room that has provided some excellent leadership."
Yet football isn't everything to Roberts. He focuses intently on his academics, trying to make sure he gets good grades. While he would love to play in the NFL someday, Roberts is already preparing for a career as a sales representative.
And yes, that does mean he has to actually dress nicely and wear a suit.
"I'm a kid," he said. "This is what you get to do when you're 22 years old. When it's over, you move into true adulthood. It's just the experiences of life."
Roberts has a great time experiencing life. His teammates have a great time experiencing Roberts' eccentricities.
And that's just fine with Roberts. As long as he doesn't bother anybody, he doesn't mind doing his own thing.
"I'm a different person. I don't follow trends. I don't have to rant and yell," he said. "I just come, get my job done, and I'm happy with success any way I can get it."
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 22, 2002
