Sam Roberts is an American football defensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwest Missouri State.
Winner of the Cliff Harris Award, which recognizes the best defensive player at a small college or university in the United States.
He received first-team All-America honors from the D2CCA and the AFCA in addition to being named the defensive player of the year by the D2CCA Super Region 3 and the MIAA.
Sam was named to the All-America second team by the Associated Press and to the All-MIAA first team.
This season, he played in all 13 games for the Bearcats and spearheaded their strong defense, which resulted in 18 tackles for losses and 6.5 sacks.
His 18 tackles for losses tied for the eighth-best single-season mark in Bearcats’ annals, placing him in a tie for eighth place.
In a total of 12 separate games, Roberts recorded at least a half-tackle for loss. He was a big reason why Northwest Missouri State was able to climb all the way up to the No. 2 spot in the nation for scoring defense (12.1 points allowed per game) and the No. 4 spot in the nation for overall defense (223.6 yards allowed per game).
How Good Is Sam Roberts?
Over the course of the past few seasons, Roberts has established himself as one of the top defensive players in Division II football.
In 2018, he played in 13 games and finished with a total of 50 tackles, including 13 for losses, six sacks, and one forced fumble.