Recruiting Wrap

Mitchell Roberts 'good fit' for Illini at linebacker

Posted by: Jeremy Werner

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 8:49 AM

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Illinois has a few criteria when searching for a middle linebacker: make tackles and be the leader of the defense.

Shiloh Christian (Ark.) linebacker Mitchell Roberts seems to fit the mold of recent Illini tackling machines J Leman and Brit Miller.

"He's our emotional leader out there," Shiloh Christian coach Josh Floyd said. "He's one of those guys that's always around the football making plays."

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior linebacker helped the Saints win the Class 4A state title last year. Roberts has earned early offers from Illinois and Tulsa.

"I think (the Illini) see him as your prototypical middle linebacker," Floyd said. "He's probably not an outside linebacker, but from tackle to tackle he's as good as there is. He's always very physical. When he hits somebody, he hits ‘em.

"I know when he went up (to Champaign) for the spring game, I know he loved it. He really liked the coaches. He liked Coach (Ron) Zook a lot. I think he enjoyed the campus. It's big time football. It's Big Ten. Obviously, Coach Zook has done big stuff up there the last couple of years. You can definitely tell Illinois is going in the right direction. I think that'd be a good fit."

Roberts suffered a minor tear in his knee last year. Floyd said it "slowed (Roberts) down" for part of last season and hindered more programs from extending scholarship offers. But Floyd said SEC and Big 12 programs have been calling the Shiloh standout recently and that about "eight to 10" more programs say they are close to offering.

" I think he'd like to make a decision fairly soon," Roberts said. "I I don't know if he wants to wait all the way through. I know he was talking about going to a game (at Illinois) this year."

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