This is down to four schools, but at this point, I think it comes down to just two. Roberts will take OV's to Oklahoma, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, but it seems the Sooners and Buckeyes are a step ahead of the pack here.
I sat down with Roberts today and he acknowledged to me that the race is close between all four schools, and that when the time comes for his official visits, he'll probably find himself wanting to commit to all four. That said, I get the sense Penn State has some ground to make up on the other three, and although Oregon isn't out of the race by any means, I do think the distance factor will be prohibitive. Roberts admitted that his family's travel up to Eugene has been arduous the last couple of times they've visited. The Buckeyes continue to push very hard for Roberts' services, and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has already struck up a strong bond with the blue-chip Washington (Okla.) tight end. Meanwhile, Roberts' older brother Jake is very much enjoying his time at OU thus far, and Joe Jon Finley and Seth Littrell have kept up their concerted pursuit of Nate.
Roberts will be at Oregon's spring game on April 13th, Oklahoma's spring game on the 20th and the Ohio State spring game on the 27th (I may have those Oregon and tOSU dates flipped, but I think that's correct). He said he expects to commit shortly after his official visit slate is wrapped up, but one way or another, I don't feel that this thing is going to be all the way over until pen meets paper. Much could depend on how much (and how well) his finalists use the tight end this fall, and for better or worse, that could cause him to re-evaluate his decision. So regardless of where Roberts commits, I wouldn't necessarily consider the process to be a wrap when he does so. In short, there is long-term flip potential for Oklahoma if he goes elsewhere, but there's also long-term flip potential for the other finalists if he ends up picking the Sooners.
As for where Oklahoma stands in relation to the other programs in the mix (particularly Ohio State), I think the Sooners are in a good spot but not a great spot. There's still a lot of work to be done here, even with Jake on board the proverbial schooner. And in the end, I don't think Oklahoma is going to bend over backwards to get Roberts in the class. They will recruit him as diligently as any other blue-chip prospect, but as one source put it to me today, "OU's not coddling him." If he wants to stay home and be a Sooner, they'll welcome him with open arms, but if not, they'll move along and turn up the heat on DaSaahn Brame and/or Chase Loftin (it goes without saying that Linkon Cure is a major priority regardless of what happens with Roberts).
I give the slight edge to Ohio State as of now, but it's not enough of an edge that I'd bail on my FutureCast just yet. The Buckeyes are emphasizing to Roberts that the Big Ten is the tight end's league, and some may recall that they successfully deployed a similar pitch (i.e., the Big Ten is the linebacker's league) to get Payton Pierce on board last cycle. It's a pitch to which Roberts has been receptive thus far. So the Buckeyes will likely be the largest thorn in Oklahoma's side until the process winds to a conclusion.
Much more interesting than we all figured it'd be six months ago. But hey, that's recruiting, right?
