By Steve Patterson
At a Nike camp on the campus of Purdue most recently, Roy Roundtree, showed his ability to go hard, run good routes, and make the catch. We spoke with Trotwood Madison assistant coach Jerel Freeman recently about Roundtree’s ability on the football field. “I would say Roy's best attributes are his work ethic, he's very coachable, despite a light frame he's very physical, and he's a great leader and mentor to the younger wide outs. His work ethic is unlike any high schooler I've ever seen. He does everything at game speed in practice and that leads to his game speed being faster than everyone else's. He puts you in the mind of a Jerry Rice when you watch him in practice. His desire to be great can be seen just by watching how hard he goes in practice.” Coach Freeman reported to us.
The Rams finished 2006 with a 7-4 record and a 3-2 record in the league. But Coach Freeman was very happy with the play of Roundtree especially during a tough stretch in the middle of the season. “There was a stretch of games where Roy showed how special he was. This was actually during the toughest stretch of our season when we needed him most. There was a three game stretch where we played Piqua, Northmont, and Troy. During these three games Roy made some of the most spectacular plays of the season. There were plays where he reversed field and scored, numerous one hand grabs, and bone-crushing blocks. They say the Big Time players step up in the Big Games and that's what Roy did.”
Roundtree was not able to attend any camps over the 2006 summer. “Roy wasn't able to attend any camps last year outside of the Nike combine. But I can say we always see an advance in skill in all of our guys that attend college camps. The individual drills and work that they get exposed to from college coaches always helps their skill level to improve.” But he is schedule to go on the Coach Ginn Bus Tour this year. “Roy attended the Nike Combine last year and that was about it other than doing 7-on-7 camps with the team at Miami University (Ohio) and Wittenberg. But he will take part in the Ted Ginn Bus Tour this summer.”
Roundtree was also on hand for the Elite Skills camp in Paul Brown stadium earlier this spring and earned some recognition for his ability to catch everything that came his way. To this point he has received five scholarship offers. “Roy currently has offers from Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Miami (OH), Nebraska, and Purdue. He's receiving strong interest from U.C. and Ohio State along with many other BCS schools.” Coach Freeman reported to us.
When it comes time to make a decision, Roundtree will be looking at academics and the schools ability at wide receiver skill development in recent years. “I know that Roy wants to go to a school with strong academics. Also, he wants to be a part of a good program that will help him max out his potential on and off the field.”