SPRINGDALE — Mitchell Roberts walked off the field after Shiloh Christian's first day of practice in pads this summer looking as healthy as he has in years.
Sure, there was that small bump on one of his legs caused by a mild case of what he called "jumper's knee," but it was nothing he seemed too concerned about.
Roberts, a 6-3, 240-pound middle linebacker, knows how to play in pain. He also knows his threshold, which he has reached more times than he cares to remember as he prepares for his senior year with the Saints, whowon their fifth state title in 10 years last December.
The most trying time for Roberts was last summer, mostof which he spent recovering from a torn right knee ligament and a stress fracture in the same leg. After playing in the season opener, Roberts contracted mononucleosis and had to sit out the next four games. He returned in Week 6 against Prairie Grove and still finished the year with 71 tackles, helping Shiloh Christian win its first state championship at the Class 4A level.
Roberts missed two junior high games in ninth grade with a calcium deposit in his thigh and sustained a nasty high-ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Saints' Class 3A state championship game loss to Glen Rose his sophomore year.
"It was always something just nagging that held me out for a while," Roberts said. "I felt like, why now? It always happens at the worst time. As soon as I get back, I get mono.
"I was fortunate to have apretty good season after that."
Roberts hit his stride with four tackles for losses and a blocked punt for a safety in Week 10 against Farmington. Then he took off in the playoffs, capping the season with seven tackles and a touchdown reception in the Class 4A title game, a 42-18 victory over Pine Bluff Dollarway.
Despite all the injuries, Roberts accomplished enough to draw heavy attention from NCAA Division I college coaches. He has offers from Tulsa and Illinois so far, and that list could grow if he stays healthy and continues his rapid progress.
"He's always been a physical player, and that's what you love about him the most," Shiloh Christian Coach Josh Floyd said. "He's gotten stronger in the weight room, and he's improved his speed. He's a very coachablekid and a very smart football player."
Roberts has toned up and dropped his 40-yard dash time from about 5.0 seconds to 4.8. He also has demonstrated a wide range of skills on both sides ofthe ball, contributing at fullback, tight end and wide receiver over the past two years.
Roberts is even expecting to see time at offensive tackle this season.
"Whatever helps," he said. "It's not really about me. If it helps us win, that's what I'm going to do."
Some of the credit for Roberts' work ethic and intensity goes to his older brother, Blake, who took Shiloh Christian allthe way to the state championship game as the starting quarterback in 2007, his only year on the team. Blake Roberts turned down multiple football scholarship offers to play baseball at Central Arkansas.
"It's always pushed me to make a name for myself," Mitchell Roberts said of his brother's accomplishments. "He's been really supportive. All his friends say he kind of brags about me.
"He's always pushing me,and he tells me it's not always made for you when you get to college."
Always aware of his obligations, Roberts has passed along that type of encouragement and advice to his younger teammates. Junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier transferred from West Fork last summer and knew Roberts had his back right away.
"When I first came in, I didn't know anybody, and he's one of the first guys that talked to me," Frazier said of Roberts. "He's usually a guy who speaks up. He always has energy out there, so he brings that to practice every day."
Roberts fully understands his role as the highest-profile senior at Shiloh Christian, along with the lofty expectations that go with it. Whether he is on the field terrorizing quarterbacks or on the sidelines motivating teammates, Roberts is out to prove that commitment and perseverance pay off.
"I tried to quit in seventh grade," Roberts said. "I was mentally weak. During spring camp one day, the coaches were running us to death. I told the coach I was quitting to focus on baseball. I stuck with it, though.
"There's been some ups and downs, and there's been times when I really questioned it, but I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did."
Shiloh Christian Saints
COACH Josh Floyd
LAST SEASON 13-1
OFFENSE Spread
DEFENSE 4-3
RETURNING STARTERS Offense 9, defense 6
POINTS SCORED PER GAME 47.3
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 11.2
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH Kiehl Frazier (6-2, 210, QB, Jr.), Garrett Harper (5-10, 175, RB, Jr.), Chris Bryant (5-11, 205, RB, Sr.), Zann Jones (6-0, 185, WR, Jr.), Jake Scott (6-1, 207, WR, Sr.), Travis Bodenstein (6-4, 290, LT, Jr.), Josh Salsbury (6-0, 240, C, Sr.)
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH Samuel Harvill (6-1, 260, NG, Jr.), Mitchell Roberts (6-3, 240, MLB, Sr.), Colt Thomas (5-10, 180, OLB, Jr.), Wilson Huett (5-10, 175, S, Sr.), Ryan Hyde (6-2, 230, RT, Jr.), Jacob Coffman (5-10, 155, OLB, Jr.)
KEEP AN EYE ON Wilson Huett. Huett missed his sophomore year with a hamstring injury but emerged with a huge junior season. He intercepted seven passes, returning two for touchdowns, and scored another touchdown on a 69-yard punt return. Huett, who has 4.5 speed, will lead the secondary again this year and should see some action behind Frazier at quarterback.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK Shiloh Christian lit up the scoreboard last year with its diverse Spread attack, but the Saints will give opponents a slightly different look this year with Frazier taking over full time at quarterback. Playing less than a half in most games last year, Frazier passed for 17 touchdowns and ran for 15. He already is a major college prospect with scholarship offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Tulsa and Western Michigan. Harper and Bryant each rushed for more than 500 yards last year, and Harper was the Saints' leading receiver with 11 touchdown catches. Jones and Scott are the main deep threats at wide receiver after combining for 10 touchdown receptions.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK The Saints posted three shutouts in conference play last year and are loaded again with size, speed, depth and experience. Harvill was nearly unstoppable last year, recording 24 1 /2 tackles for losses and 16 sacks. Roberts missed four games last year but still finished with 71 tackles. Thomas, who had a team-leading 110 tackles last year, returns at outside linebacker.
SEASON OUTLOOK Nearly all the key contributors are back from last seasons Class 4A state champion, so the Saints will be a heavy favorite to repeat. Frazier, Bodenstein, Harvill and Roberts all have Division I scholarship offers, and others could join them.
KEY GAME Sept. 3 vs. Shreveport Evangel. Shiloh Christian should breeze through conference play and could go most of the season without receiving much of a challenge. The Saints' Week 3 trip to Greenwood should be an exciting matchup, but Floyd said the game he anticipates most is the season opener at home against national powerhouse Evangel.
QUOTING COACH FLOYD "A lot of guys are coming back from the state championship team, so there is a big target on your chest. It'll just motivate our guys to work hard."
Sports, Pages 63, 64 on 08/30/2009