Blue Chips: Father of Michigan OL commit Ben Roebuck talks June official visit
I recently caught up with Doug Roebuck, father of three-star Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward offensive tackle and Michigan commit Ben Roebuck, to get his thoughts on their official visit and more.
Here are some highlights from the interview.
On his overall thoughts on the official visit:
“The best part of the whole visit was that I think 13 out of 17 commits were able to attend on the same day. Getting to know all the different families and build relationships since he committed in March was pretty cool.”
On parents he had a chance to spend time with on the visit:
“We got to spend time with Luke Hamilton’s family. Ben and Luke made some of the same trips for junior days and games. Spending time with the Sprague’s, Frazier’s and Guarnera’s was pretty cool. The guys all got together and clicked really well. The five families all seemed to have similar backgrounds and values.”
On the bond the offensive line class has:
“The whole group is going to mesh well together. They’ve always hung out. They have their own text thing going. They also did video chats over the winter. They’ve gotten really close. It was nice to create some bonds with their parents because we’re going to spend the next four or five years together.”
On reconnecting with the Michigan staff:
“It was amazing to spend some real quality time with Coach (Sherrone) Moore. We spent a few minutes together on the junior day, but to spend time off and on over the course of two days was really special. We had a little more contact with Coach (Jim) Harbaugh and his family. That was amazing as well. Seeing Coach Moore’s family, Coach Harbaugh’s family and Coach Clink’s (Steve Clinkscale) family, they are all pretty special people. Getting to spend more time with them on a personal level made them seem more real — just like regular people that are going to take good care of my son.”
On the Michigan strength and conditioning program:
“That’s one of the most amazing presentations. (Ben Herbert) is very technical and detailed in what he does. I think him and Abigail (O’Connor) will be able to turn Ben into something amazing over four or five years. The way they do things specifically for each player is amazing.”
On the academics:
“That has always been one of my priorities. Ben has always taken some IB and AP classes. He’s always pushed himself and done really well in school. I think that’s going to carry over. I’ve always wanted him to get a great education. The biggest priority is that he comes away with some lifelong skills that will take care of him for the future. The presentation from the education team at Michigan showed that they are going to help him stick with it and work hard with whatever degree he gets.”
On if there was anything that was different about this visit:
“This was the first time we got to spend quality time overnight in Ann Arbor and get a feel for the town. The way they support the university and athletic program is special. The Midwest is a good place for Ben. He went on the some visits in the deep south. The state of Michigan has more of a similar feeling to Northeast Ohio.”
On how much the visit reinforced that Michigan is the right fit for Ben:
“Every time we get together, we feel more and more that it’s the right fit. They talk about feeling home, and that’s the feeling he got really early on. The whole organization felt like family. We went to some other places, and it felt very transactional and cold. Michigan was really warm welcoming and cared about family. The coaching staff and the recruiting team really got to know the players and treated them really well. That was very important.”
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