Illinois State QB a major challenge for Iowa

IOWA CITY - Brock Spack spent the first part of the last decade learning about his defense's weaknesses from the other side of the ball.

Spack was Purdue's defensive coordinator back then and saw Drew Brees, then Kyle Orton up close every day. Now at Illinois State, Spack has the pleasure of watching another quarterback perform similar tasks in Tre Roberson, who like Brees and Orton, debriefs the coach after practice.

It's difficult to compare Roberson with Brees, a likely Pro Football Hall of Famer, or even Orton. Partially, it's because of their style of play. Mostly it's because of their extended profile.

But like the other two, Roberson has elevated the offense and the team around him. Illinois State has become an FCS favorite, and Spack sees similarities in Roberson's leadership and play-making ability with Brees and Orton.

'Tre is obviously a different style of player,” Spack said. 'He's different from Brees, in a lot of respects. Drew kept himself alive, he had really good feet, he was a tennis player, he had really quick feet but not great foot speed. He was uncanny accurate. What they are similar is in how they prepare. Drew spent a lot of time in preparation and did a film study, and this guy is no different than any great quarterback I've been around. They prepare and they know how to prepare. That's the difference I see in him and other kids is how he goes about his week and how he prepares for a game. That's impressive.”

After transferring from Indiana, Roberson became one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks in any classification last year. He passed for 3,221 yards and rushed for 1,029 yards. He threw 30 touchdowns and rushed for 11.

In the FCS championship game against North Dakota State, Roberson threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a 58-yard score with 1 minute, 38 seconds left to give the Redbirds a 27-23 lead. That North Dakota State rallied to win the game 29-27 is something that motivates both Roberson and the Redbirds.

'Thirty-eight seconds better,” Roberson said. 'Everyone really harped on it, especially when we got our runs in the morning. Everyone worked really hard and also got humble. We were working like we're at the bottom of the FCS.”

Roberson spent three years at Indiana, and he left in June 2014. He opened five games as a true freshman in 2011 and made his first start at Kinnick Stadium. Roberson passed for 196 yards and rushed for 82 in his debut and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Early in his second season Roberson suffered a broken leg and red-shirted. He returned as a red-shirt sophomore and split time with Nate Sudfeld and Carson Coffman. Roberson then decided to transfer.

'It was a difficult decision because that's a place that I wanted to go all my life,” Roberson said. 'I'm an Indiana kid, I'm from the state of Indiana. Things happen for a reason, but I'm glad I made the decision to transfer to Illinois State.”

At Indiana, Roberson passed for 2,433 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He rushed for 982 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was available late, but the timing was right for Spack.

'I don't feel almost lucky, I feel very lucky, very fortunate that he fell in our lap,” Spack said. 'We have connections back in Indiana and our recruiting coordinator played and coached in Indiana.”

'When I was talking to him, he was preaching about the national championship,” Roberson said. 'He said they felt like they already had everything in place, but they just needed a quarterback. I felt like that was my opportunity to go in there and try to help the team try to get where they're trying to go, which is the national championship. That's what we did.”

After a 13-2 season that ended just shy of a national title, Illinois State's goals start and end with a return trip. But first the Redbirds must play at Iowa. Illinois State has not beaten a Big Ten team, but Roberson said playing a team in a hostile venue provided focus in offseason workouts.

'A lot of times when you're coming off a successful season, a lot of guys will get kind of like higher than themselves,” Roberson said. 'They need to be humble. Playing against a team like Iowa ... they could come out and blow us out. That's been a big motivation knowing everyone has to work at a higher level than they did last year.”

That's where Roberson provides leadership.

'It's going to be a big challenge for the younger guys who haven't played in a place that big or with 70,000 people not yelling for you,” Roberson said. 'They haven't experienced that. So with my guys, especially on the offensive side, I told them to lock in on me, put everything on me, just focus in on me, make sure you get all the play calls and be calm and relaxed. Don't worry about all the fans, don't worry about all that. Just let me handle the outside and you just focus on football and do your part.”

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