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Nebraska kid stars for Northwest
Tyler Roach made Nebraska-Omaha pay on Saturday for snubbing him back in 2004-05.
Roach was an honorable mention All-State Class A defensive tackle in Nebraska, playing for Elkhorn, an Omaha suburb. He also was selected to the all-district and All-Omaha first teams.
In addition, he had a good pedigree, being the son of former Iowa State player Tom Roach.
But Nebraska-Omaha had no interest, so Roach gave up the idea of a 20-mile commute to play in Maryville, Mo.
Roach said he was playing with that motivation when he blocked a field goal, returned a fumble for a touchdown and recorded a sack in Northwest's 42-0 rout of the Mavericks.
And don't think Northwest coach Mel Tjeerdsma didn't notice Roach's breakout game.
“I talked to his dad last night,” Tjeerdsma said. “His dad was a great athlete, but I think we've got a better athlete now.”
Roach, Sean Paddock and others on the defensive line put pressure on Miller all day, frustrating him into a sub-par performance in front of at least three NFL scouts.
If Paddock and Roach keep this up, those scouts might begin paying more attention to the Northwest defensive line than to Omaha's quarterback.
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