2017 Football Roster
Jelani Roberts
- Height:
- 5-8
- Weight:
- 172
- Position:
- WR
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Owings Mills, Md.
- High School:
- The Gilman School
2018: Appeared in nine games as a senior, and made two catches and received two carries … Made his first catch of the season for five yards against Duke (9/8) … Made a career-long 33-yard reception against Ohio State (12/1) … Rushed for seven yards against Utah (12/31) ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2017: Appeared in eight games during the season ... Had a season-high two carries versus Nevada, Bowling Green and at Illinois ... Rushed for a career-high 23 yards versus BGSU ... Had a career-long 15-yard rush at Duke ... Scored his first career touchdown on a 12-yard jet sweep in a 39-0 win over Minnesota ... Scored a touchdown for the second-straight game with a 14-yard run at Illinois ... Finished the season with 10 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2016: Appeared in nine games as a backup wide receiver and on special teams units ... Rushed one time in the Wildcats’ victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh in the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl ... Had a season-high two carries versus Duke ... Also contributed with a special teams tackle versus the Blue Devils ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2015: Led all NU true first years in receptions (8) and receiving yards (48) ... Caught a season-long 12-yard pass in game at Michigan ... Also had one kickoff return for 19 yards versus the Wolverines ... Carried the ball three times for 20 yards in victory over Eastern Michigan ... Collected 14 yards on three receptions versus Penn State ... Had two catches for 12 yards versus Iowa ... Honored as a 2015 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country.
High School: Earned a three-star rating from Rivals ... Rated as the No. 27 overall recruit in the state of Maryland by Rivals ... Two-time All-MIAA selection ... Named Baltimore Sun First Team All-Metro player ... Private School All-State First Team honoree ... Selected to play in the Maryland Crab Bowl All-Star Game ... Played both wide receiver and running back at The Gilman School ... Produced 1,695 all-purpose yards and scored 15 touchdowns for the Greyhounds in 2014 ... Helped the The Gilman School to become 2014 MIAA Co-Champions with an 8-3 record in 2014 ... Recorded an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a nationally-televised game (ESPN) on Aug. 31, 2014 ... Selected to the Baltimore Touchdown Club Super 22 Team in May 2014 ... Also an accomplished sprinter on the track team ... Named to the All-MIAA Outdoor Track Team in 2013 and 2014 and the All-MIAA Indoor Team in 2014 ... Won the 55-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter MIAA championships ... National Commended Student ... National Achievement Scholarship finalist ... AP Scholar with Honor ... National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete ... Member of Honor Committee and Vice President of Athletic Association.
Personal: Born Jelani Khari Roberts in Baltimore ... Son of Kevin and Tonia Roberts ... Teammates with fellow 2015 signee Alonzo Mayo since they were youth football players ... Attended same high school as journalist Frank DeFord and baseball executive Mark Shapiro ... Chose Northwestern over offers from Boston College, Navy and several Ivy League programs ... Major is mechanical engineering.
