Ben Roberts wasn’t enticed to Texas Tech as an NIL bonus baby. Rather, he got a late scholarship offer from the Red Raiders’ previous football coach, Matt Wells.
Roberts was a zero-star Class of 2022 recruit out of Haslet Eaton. He’s not as decorated as fellow Mustache Gang linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, but both personify Tech’s remarkable rise to college football elite status.
Overlooked and underestimated no more.
The Red Raiders’ $25 million roster is a major storyline entering their Thursday night CFP quarterfinal against Oregon in the Orange Bowl, but players like Roberts are the foundation upon which fourth-year coach Joey McGuire has built the program.
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“I’ve seen it all happen,” Roberts told The Dallas Morning News, adding of McGuire, “I’d say the biggest thing about him is that he is who he says he is. He’s the same guy every day.”
At his core, 6-3, 235-pound junior Roberts is the same person who graduated from Eaton as a 205-pound safety, the son of John and Carrie Roberts and younger brother of Lowell.
Roberts’ personal journey made what occurred on Dec. 6 all the more poignant. Playing in AT&T Stadium, 28 miles from where he starred at Eaton, Roberts overcame a first-half abdominal injury to earn Most Outstanding Player honors in Tech’s Big 12 championship game victory over BYU.
After working with trainers at halftime to warm and loosen his abdomen, Roberts intercepted two passes and broke up a fourth-down pass attempt as the Red Raiders pulled away to a 34-7 win, the school’s first conference football title in 30 years.
According to Roberts, the Red Raiders are making history by following McGuire’s daily example.
“He comes to work, puts on the same face no matter what’s going on in his life,” Roberts said. “And he asked the same of us.
“I think the team does a really good job of applying that day-in and day-out, especially with this group that we’ve got in here. I mean, with rev share (NIL) you could see guys be like ‘Me, me, me.’ But that’s not who this team is.”
For Roberts, facing Oregon will in a sense be a full-circle moment, although he and the Red Raiders certainly plan on this season continuing beyond Thursday.
On Sept. 9, 2023, Roberts made his first college start, at home against then-No. 13 Oregon.
Redshirt freshman Roberts had been on the field for just four plays in the previous week’s season-opening loss at Wyoming, but against the Ducks, Roberts was pressed into a starting role in part because Rodriguez sprained his foot against Wyoming.
John Roberts chuckles in memory of pulling Ben aside in Tech’s team hotel the night before the Oregon game.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Dad, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?”
Ben had 12 tackles and forced a fumble in the 38-30 home loss to the Ducks. McGuire afterward marveled that Roberts was “just out there athlete-ing,” playing on adrenaline and instinct.
Roberts would go on to lead that season’s Red Raiders with 107 tackles, the most by a Tech freshman since 1980, on his way to being named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award.
“That first time I played Oregon, I was just playing football,” Roberts said. “I wasn’t understanding scheme or anything. I was just running to the ball, trying to give the most effort I could.
“But now that I understand things, I think it’s going to be a lot different. We lost that first time, and I’d like to get that win against them, for sure.”
Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts (13) celebrates after intercepting a pass during the second half of the Big 12 Championship football game against BYU at AT&T Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington. Texas Tech defeated BYU 34-7.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
An invaluable force
Haslet Eaton coach Ellis Miller recalls seeing Roberts for the first time, as a skinny quarterback at Haslet’s Wilson Middle School.
As an Eaton freshman, Roberts could, according to Miller, throw the ball 65 yards “on a rope,” but a shoulder injury resulted in Roberts getting surpassed by another quarterback.
Miller said Carrie Roberts came to his office to ask about Ben getting practice reps at quarterback.
“I said, ‘Well, the other kid’s playing well and (Ben’s) gotten a few reps,” Miller said, adding with a laugh. “Of course, she corrected me real quick: ‘No, he hasn’t.’
Eaton’s Ben Roberts catches a ball during a high school football game against Hebron. Roberts had 14 tackles, an interception, recovered a late on-side kick and went into the game as a receiver on the last series and caught this game-winning touchdown pass.
The Roberts Family / The Roberts Family
“I told her, ‘Ben’s got an unbelievable arm, but he’s invaluable as a force at safety.”
Miller and his staff couldn’t help but notice Roberts during spring “boot camp” after his freshman season, after Roberts was moved into eighth-period athletics with varsity players.
“His maturity was on another level,” Miller said, “Mentally disciplined. Tough. We’re in boot camp and they’re not allowed to wipe their face, just keep their hands at attention and look straight ahead.
“Our coaches are yelling at him and he’s got a bead of sweat going across his eye, down his cheek. He doesn’t move.”
Roberts had played quarterback and defensive back since the first grade, playing for the rec league Texans, with his father as an assistant coach. John Roberts became head coach as the Texans moved to the select level.
While getting individually trained by former TCU cornerback Greg Walls, Roberts said he flipped his mindset about mostly wanting to be a quarterback.
“He said, ‘You’re gonna have to pick a side of the ball,’ ” Roberts recalled. “In my mind, I was like, ‘Safety’s kind of fun. I kind of like flying around, making tackles and taking the ball away.’ ”
Haslet Eaton opened in 2015 and, though competitive under Miller, didn’t experience its breakthrough season until 2020, Roberts’ junior year, when he helped lead them to a 9-4 finish.
A young Ben Roberts poses for a photo alongside his father, John Roberts.
The Roberts Family / The Roberts Family
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached,” Miller said. “Really talented. Hard to say who’s the most talented that’s come through Eaton, but mentally he’s the most disciplined kid I’ve ever been around.”
Entering his senior year, The News ranked him as the area’s eighth-best defensive back, but the primary schools showing interest were SMU, Army, Navy and Air Force. He considered committing to SMU’s “soft offer,” but Miller encouraged him to wait.
Unlike most of his peers, Roberts did not promote himself on social media. Nor did he go to many college camps in the offseason before his senior year.
“His perspective,” John Roberts said, “was ‘I’ll be on the field on Friday night. If they want to see me, that’s where I’ll be.’ ”
Ben did, however, impress at a Tech camp, after which then-Red Raiders coach Wells remarked, “We didn’t even know you existed.” Wells told Ben that his staff would evaluate the first three games of his senior season, then decide whether to offer a scholarship.
The third game was against Hebron. Eaton trailed 34-8 in the third quarter, but rallied mightily. Roberts had 14 tackles and an interception. He made a tackle on a late fourth-and-one. After Eaton pulled within 34-28, Roberts was inserted onto the kicking team and recovered the onside kick.
Then, inserted at receiver, he outleaped a Hebron safety and caught the game-winning 28-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left — on fourth down. It was his first catch of the season.
“We went down to the railing after the game,” John said, “Ben comes running up and says, “Dad, see that? That was three plays, Dad!”
“Yeah, I saw you, buddy,” John said. “I saw you.”
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, left, Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts (13) celebrate after their victory against the BYU in the Big 12 Championship football game at AT&T Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Fortunate to be at Texas Tech
Three nights later, on Sept. 13, 2021, Wells offered Roberts a scholarship and Roberts excitedly tweeted that he’d accepted — having no way of knowing that Wells would get fired six weeks later.
McGuire was hired on Nov. 8, after spending the previous five seasons on Baylor’s staff. McGuire told Roberts that Tech would honor its commitment to him, but encouraged the Roberts family to come to Lubbock for an official visit.
John Roberts says he had no idea who McGuire was. He knew that Cedar Hill High had been a football power, but he had no idea it was McGuire who coached it to state titles in 2006, 2013 and 2014.
Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts poses for a photo with his mother Carrie (left) and father John (right) after the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 6, 2025. Roberts was named the game’s most outstanding player.
The Roberts Family / The Roberts Family
It turns out, the Roberts’ had had a brush with McGuire before Ben’s senior year, at a Baylor camp. Then-Baylor assistant James Blanchard, who is now Tech’s football general manager, had encouraged Ben to attend the camp.
The Roberts’ were waiting to meet with Blanchard when Baylor’s linebackers coach, McGuire, happened through.
“He leans up against the admin desk and chats with a young lady behind the desk, just to say hello, then chats us up a little bit,” John Roberts recalled. “I was like, ‘Whoever that guy was, he seemed like a nice guy.’
“Flash forward to Texas Tech giving Ben his offer, then Coach Wells losing his position, we go out to Texas Tech and meet Joey in that capacity.”
Even then, Roberts figured the Roberts were getting Tech salesman McGuire, not every day, behind the scenes McGuire.
“But I will tell you this, he has been that same person every time I’ve talked to him,” John Roberts said. “I talk to my son about him. He’s the same person. He’s first class.
“You’re just not fortunate in life to run into many people who are that consistent and that genuine, of that caliber. We’ve been fortunate, and Ben’s been fortunate, that Joey McGuire has been in his life.”
John and Carrie were of course elated to sit in AT&T Stadium for the Big 12 title game and watch Ben star in ways that were reminiscent of that Hebron game in 2021.
They watched from the stands as Ben received the MOP trophy and a WWE-style belt. They’ve become accustomed to waiting for Ben after games, long after most other Red Raiders have exited the locker room and greeted their parents.
As MOP, Ben had extra media interviews, so he was even later than usual.
“You have to know Carrie,” John said. “She’s a front-of-the-line kind of gal. We’re the very first people in line — and the last people to see our kid.”
When Ben finally emerged, he surprised John by handing him the trophy.
“This is for you.”
John misunderstood, thinking Ben was asking him to take the trophy back to Haslet, perhaps putting it in Ben’s bedroom.
“He’s always been there for me,” Ben explained. “He’s the guy that I look up to in life. He’s the reason I love football. He’s been there every step of the way.”
Once John realized what Ben really meant, he was blown away.
“A lot of those pee wee years, there’s a lot of bonding that took place,” he said. “For him to hand me the trophy was almost an affirmation of the time we spent together.”
One thing, though: Dad only got the trophy.
“I had to keep the WWE belt,” Ben said. “Because, I mean, that was pretty sick.”
Being a Red Raider has brought other material rewards, namely NIL money. At first, John said, Ben seemed amazed to be getting any money, much less the increasing levels that have accompanied his and the program’s rise.
Ben Roberts still doesn’t tweet much about himself or his on-the-field accomplishments, but he does frequently express gratitude on social media, including this tweet on Thanksgiving.
“Grateful for this team, this town, and every single fan & donor who makes it all possible.
“You’re not just watching the season, you’re building it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for riding with us.”
Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts hoists the most outstanding WWE player wrestling belt after winning the Big 12 Championship football game at AT&T Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington. Texas Tech defeated BYU 34-7.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
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