Roberson, At Central, Now A Class-First Guy

Malik Roberson used to resemble a line out of the old Fat Albert cartoon.

He was like a teacher on a Saturday. He had no class.

Now that’s not saying that the former Lewis and Clark High School and Washington State University football player didn’t have high style. As a Cougar, Roberson had class. Problem was, he just didn’t attend them on a regular basis.

“Sometimes I look back and I wish I could do it over again,” Roberson said. “I just thank God I got a second chance.”

Roberson is now a senior linebacker for the Central Washington Wildcats in Ellensburg, Wash. So instead of preparing for UCLA in Pullman this weekend, Roberson and CWU are readying themselves to take on the Whitworth Pirates at the Pine Bowl at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

It will be the first time Roberson will have played in Spokane since his days as an LC Tiger six years ago.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Roberson was a tight end, linebacker and defensive end in his last year of high school and was also an all-Greater Spokane League and all-state selection.

At Washington State, he red-shirted in 1989 and was a key reserve in his first season of action and appeared in all 11 WSU games in 1990. From there, Roberson’s Cougar days were numbered.

He played in two games his sophomore year before being suspended for not attending class.

“I made an agreement with the coaches to go to class - and I didn’t. Someone came to check on me one day and didn’t find me where I was supposed to be, so I was suspended.”

The distractions of the collegiate social scene were just too much for him to overcome.

“I was in a rut. I did a lot of partying and didn’t have my priorities straight. I had a lot of fun, but it was definitely a learning experience. At that point, I had to ask myself, ‘what do you really want out of life?’ “

Roberson decided to transfer to Central Washington, and he sat out for a season before returning to action last year.

At CWU, coach Jeff Zenisek calls Roberson the chief of the tribe. “He doesn’t say much, but when he does, everybody listens.”

The 24-year-old Roberson will receive his undergraduate degree in education with an emphasis in lifestyles management for disadvantaged youth.

“I’ve learned my lessons, I want to pass them on to others,” Roberson said.Roberson’s decision to leave WSU has paid dividends thus far.

As far as football is concerned, Roberson has concentrated his efforts on helping the Wildcats reach a more lofty perch than the one they occupied last year.

Central Washington finished the season with a 5-4 record that included a 44-36 home loss to Whitworth. Roberson said the team is not looking past its opponents this year the way it did last year.

Roberson, who is mammoth compared to most NAIA football players, can’t be found at the very top of all the CWU defensive categories though. However, don’t read too much into that.

Opposing coaches know who he is and they know about his talent.

“It gets frustrating getting double, triple - sometimes quadruple teamed,” Roberson said. “But that just frees up my teammates to make the plays.”

And at least once a week, NFL scouts have taken the time to introduce themselves to Roberson and Zenisek.

“At least one comes once a week. Two came last week, but I’m not even concerning myself with that. If that’s meant to be, it’ll happen. If not, I’ll get that degree in the summer.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo