Impact 2000: #9 Ryan Roberts
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
December 21, 2000

(UHND.com) Half of our number ten impact duo was Grant Irons, a player who was supposed to help Notre Dame get some semblance of a pass rush this season.  As we all know he went down with injury in the second week of the season, leaving Ryan Roberts as his replacement.

Roberts, who had only 37 minutes of playing time in his first two years at Notre Dame, eclipsed that total through three games with over 47 minutes of game time which included his first career start against Purdue.  Even before taking over as the starter for Grant Irons, Roberts was impressive up front.

Through the first three games of the year, Roberts had three sacks, which lead the team.  Roberts ended the season with 5 sacks which was good enough for second on the team tied with Anthony Denman behind Anthony Weaver who paced the Irish with 8.

Roberts showed signs of play making ability last season against Kansas when he registered his first career sack, but didn't see consistent playing time until this season.  Once he got in the starting lineup though, he made an impact.  Roberts presence on the line was a big reason that Notre Dame's pass rush was leagues better than the pathetic rush that registered only 18 sacks in '99.  The Irish, with the help of Ryan, upped that total to 33 this season.

On top of his five sacks, Ryan showed he has great presence of mind by recovering two fumbles this year which also tied for the team lead with Tony Driver who got both of his recoveries in the same quarter against Navy, taking both in for touchdowns.

Ryan was a junior this year, but will still have two years of eligibility left which should allow him to make an even bigger impact on defense for the Irish in the next few years.  Next year he will join with Anthony Weaver, BJ Scott, Darrell Campbell, Grant Irons, Andy Wisne, and Cedric Hilliard to give Notre Dame a very strong front line that will also benefit from the addition of Greg Pauly who spent his freshman year recovering from an ACL injury.