Hurricanes D-line commit Elijah Roberts is embracing leadership as a senior at Columbus
Elijah Roberts made sure to take his time with his commitment.
It wasn’t always true for the four-star defensive end from Columbus. He orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes before his junior reason not long after the hometown team offered him a scholarship. Before the end of his junior season, he realize he rushed in, though. The defensive lineman decommitted even before the turmoil of Miami’s 2018 season began.
The plan, however, was always to come back to the Hurricanes if it worked out. Roberts always wanted to play for the local team, he just wanted to make sure he was keeping all his options open before he rushed into anything.
By June, Roberts had been as diligent as he needed to be. The end committed to Miami and is now one of the loyalest commitments in the class and the Hurricanes are loyal to the senior, too.
“Coaches basically told me if I never get another sack again in high school, then I’m still locked in,” Roberts said last Wednesday after the Explorers opened the regular season with a win in Miami. “I’m still good with them.”
Of course, such a scenario is unlikely. Roberts has shed some bad weight from the end of his junior season and is the centerpiece of a talented defensive line for Columbus, which has state championship aspirations after a narrow loss in the Class 8A title in 2018.
Last Wednesday, Roberts helped the Explorers open the season with a 41-7 rout of Belen Jesuit at Tropical Park. He’s now one of four captains for Columbus and took it as his responsibility to ensure the Explorers shut out the Wolverines in the second half after going into the break with a 14-7 lead.
“I had to just sit down and talk to the defense, tell them it’s a new half, it’s like basically a new game now,” Roberts said. “It’s 0-0 at halftime.”
Roberts, who measured in at 6-foot-3 and 267 pounds at The Opening regional in Davie in February, remains one of the most versatile and best defensive linemen in South Florida. He recently got the bump to four-star status in the Rivals.com rankings — he was already a four-star defensive end in the 247Sports.com composite rankings — and is one of the centerpieces of the Hurricanes’ Class of 2020 in a variety of ways.
Most importantly, he’s a major talent, but he also doesn’t plan to visit any other schools between now and when he signs with Miami.
Before then, he also has lofty expectations.
“I want to win states with this team,” Roberts said. “My team’s worked too hard just not to win. I believe we will get there. I believe we will win it.”
Other top performances:
All season long, the Miami Herald will track top performances from across the country by players committed to the Hurricanes.
▪ Even in Belen Jesuit’s loss last Wednesday, four-star running back Donald Chaney Jr. still ran for 61 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
▪ Justin Hodges, a three-star safety at Western, logged five tackles, an interception, two passes defended and a forced fumble in the Wildcats’ season-opening 58-0 win against Everglades on Friday in Miramar.
▪ Xavier Restrepo made his regular-season debut with Deerfield Beach on Saturday and grabbed an interception in the Bucks’ 24-12 loss to Carol City in Miami.