Nate Roberts following family’s guidance to D-I football career
WASHINGTON, Okla. (BVM) — The Washington Warriors have two premier tight end prospects and one of them is Nate Roberts. The four-star recruit has 33 D-I scholarship offers and is ranked as the No. 2 tight end in the Class of 2025.
Roberts was initially committed to Notre Dame, but on Aug. 12 he decommitted from the Fighting Irish.
I have made the decision to decommit from the University of Notre Dame. I want to thank Coach Freeman, Coach Parker, and Chad Bowden for the opportunity, and wish them and the Fighting Irish the best going forward. https://t.co/trrcVYYU7j
— Nate Roberts (@nateroberts2025) August 15, 2023
“Me and my family talked about it for months and we knew it was the best decision for me and my family, but overall it wasn’t the spot for me,” Roberts said.
Roberts committed to the Fighting Irish on June 19 and now he will have the opportunity to visit more schools, something he never got the chance to do while he was committed.
“It was definitely something I didn’t like when I was committed,” Roberts said. “I was a big fan of the recruiting process and I soaked it all in. I love visiting these places and it’s a really cool experience to talk to all the top coaches in the nation.”
Roberts’ offers include Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and others. He has the potential to join a Power 5 program, but Roberts also has the comfort of knowing that his family is there to provide support if he needs it.
Great time yesterday at the University of Oklahoma, thank you @CoachVenables @JOE_JON_FINLEY @Coach_Leb @OU_Football #Boomer @WashingtonWarr5 pic.twitter.com/EHMm0hHijr
— Nate Roberts (@nateroberts2025) September 3, 2023
“I’ve always been a football guy and I’ve been a part of a big football family,” Roberts said. “My dad played football in college and my brother does too and I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I wanted to be like them, but I’ve always loved the sport since flag football and working my way up has been great.”
Roberts’ father, Brian Roberts, played football at Marshall and his brother, Jake, plays football at Baylor. His mother, Cristin, also attended Marshall and played volleyball for the Thundering Herd and his sister, Riley, is a volleyball commit for the University of Central Oklahoma.
Nate can fall back on his family at any time, but he has another person he is close to and that’s current Washington teammate and Iowa State football commit: Cooper Alexander.
“Me and Cooper work really well together,” Nate said. “Cooper has taught me a lot since he’s older than me, but he’s helped me with my blocking and route running and taught me to be a good teammate. We’re making each other better and a lot of people think we’re competing against each other but we definitely want the best for each other.”
Nate finished his sophomore season with 33 receptions for 705 yards and 11 TDs and helped the Warriors capture a Class 2A state title and they are off to a 2-0 start in 2023. Washington has had early success, but Nate is set on accomplishing his goals, which include hauling in 15-plus TDs and 40-plus receptions.
“It’s definitely early in the season, but there are goals that I’ve set, but [I want] to reach all the goals I set at the beginning of the season and for the future,” Nate said.
Breaking individual goals will remain a priority of his, but Nate also wants to continue to be a better teammate and that’s something he learned to do while playing for Washington’s baseball team, which captured its second consecutive state title last season.
“Baseball is a sport I love,” Nate said. “I’ve been playing it throughout my whole high school career … It was a way to keep me busy and stay competitive. Just more of an opportunity to be a teammate and play a sport I love.”
Nate has proved to be an outstanding athlete, but becoming the player he is today wouldn’t have been possible without his family relocating to Washington and joining the Warriors football team that head coach Brad Beller leads.
“It’s one of the best moves we’ve ever made and it’s really big for me and my family,” Nate said. “The environment in Washington is what we needed … Coach Beller is the best coach I’ve ever had and he taught me to be a better man and football player. He helped me so much in the recruiting process and he’s a great man and person you want to have in your life and I’m very thankful to have him.”
Nate has found plenty of success on the gridiron and although he has a challenging journey ahead of him, he will continue to be grateful to the sport that has brought him immense happiness.
“It’s always been in my life and I’m very thankful for it,” Nate said. “It’s taught me about wins and losses and how to overcome those losses and I definitely want to continue to play the game as long as I can.”
