Oklahoma State Linebacker Shines on Gloomy Defensive Day
The Oklahoma State Cowboys were in dire need of a conference win with West Virginia coming to town on Saturday. The Cowboys had dropped back-to-back games to Utah (22-19) and Kansas State (42-20). Things wouldn’t get any easier for OSU following a thrashing at the hands of the Mountaineers. When the dust settled on Big 12 Conference game No. 3, the Cowboys were left searching for answers.
To make matters worse for Oklahoma State heading into the West Virginia game, they were going to have to operate without two of its top linebackers. Nick Martin and Collin Oliver were both on the sidelines prior to the game, and the Cowboys had to go with the reserves at linebacker against the Mountaineers.
Despite the Cowboys giving up a mind boggling 389 yards on the ground, the did receive solid play in the middle from senior linebacker Jeff Roberson. The in-state product from Choctaw, Oklahoma had been patiently waiting for his moment to shine in his final season in the Cowboy Orange.
He entered the game with 18 combined tackles in Oklahoma State's first five games of the season with a majority of those coming by way of his special teams play. Yet with its two star linebackers on the sidelines, Roberson took to the field as a starter in the middle.
Not only did Roberson have arguably his best career game as a Cowboy but, he had the best game of any Oklahoma State defender in the 38-14 loss at the hands of the Mountaineers of West Virginia.
Jeff Roberson finished the night with a game-high 12 total tackles with six of those being of the solo variety. He also recorded a quarterback sack and finished the day with a team-high two tackles for loss. Roberson nearly doubled his season total in tackles in the Cowboys' loss but his performance on the field had to draw some attention from the Oklahoma State coaching staff.
With both Nick Martin and Collin Oliver possibly missing significant time this season, it could be the Jeff Roberson show moving forward for the Oklahoma State linebacking core.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.