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Former EMCC QB Wyatt Roberts Joins Mississippi State Team

By Andrew Norwood

Jul 12, 2016; Hoover, AL, USA; Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen speaks to the media during SEC media day at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 12, 2016; Hoover, AL, USA; Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen speaks to the media during SEC media day at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /
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Louisville native Wyatt Roberts has been confirmed as joining the Mississippi State football team after this stint at EMCC the past two seasons.

Roberts, a junior quarterback, has been confirmed by the University to have joined the team in a walk-on capacity. This coming not long after the announcement that redshirt sophomore QB Elijah Staley would be transferring from the program. Roberts was lightly recruited out of high school, only holding one offer from Div. 1-AA Jacksonville State coming out of high school in 2014.

After serving in a back-up capacity to current Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly in 2014, Wyatt Roberts ended up earning the starting role over Auburn quarterback John Franklin III. In 9 games played over the 2015 season, Roberts had a 65.4% completion rate racking up 2197 yards and 23 touchdowns in the air. He was averaging a solid 244.1 yards per game in the air, as he led the Tigers to a 8-1 record.

Roberts has been a favorite of those who watched the Netflix series “Last Chance U” that followed the EMCC program throughout the duration of the 2015 season. The intimate knowledge of the players both on and off the field created a bond with many who may not have known about not only Wyatt Roberts, but other players like Ronald Ollie, T.J. Law, and John Franklin III. Franklin, who ended up being the only player of the series to receive a FBS offer, has been the topic of conversation with many who have watched the series. Particularly, many Auburn fans have watched the series and have come away with a little bit of a different attitude towards the transfer QB as he enters his junior season at Auburn.

While he may have the “aw shucks” attitude off the field, Wyatt Roberts was a leader on the field and it showed. The players and coaches trusted Roberts to make the right decision to lead his team down the field. Although EMCC’s season was cut shorter than expected due to the brawl against Mississippi Delta Community College, Roberts seems to have his head on straight when it comes to leadership qualities.

The series, while intrusive, gives a very unique peek inside the world of Mississippi Junior College football. Many have come away from the series with differing opinions on the matter of not only the style of play of EMCC, but also of the way many athletes are treated on and off the field. Many of the players came from places of weakness and challenges, and those in and around the program do all they can for these student-athletes to succeed. Much of the time, however, it is more of a struggle than many expected.

Netflix has confirmed that Season 2 of “Last Chance U” has been approved for this upcoming season in Scooba. With this in mind, this series is a brutal, eye-opening peek into the world of MACJC football life with the background of life in the small town of Scooba, MS. EMCC and Netflix both will profit greatly from this series, and I hope that we get many more seasons to come.

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