USC will see a different version of Dezmen Roebuck when Washington comes to town this season.
The sophomore receiver is moving from the Z spot to the slot, and that shift comes after a freshman year that put him on the map fast. Roebuck arrived as a former three-star recruit from Marana High School in Arizona, impressed during fall camp before his first season, and quickly became a fixture for Jedd Fisch’s staff. By the end of the year, he had put together a Freshman All-America campaign with 42 catches for 560 yards and a freshman program record seven touchdowns.
Roebuck says the new role gives him more room to work.
"I feel like I definitely have more freedom to do what I need to do to get open," Roebuck said of the position change. "I feel like outside, it was more technical, so you get a little more freedom."
That freedom matters because Roebuck already showed a polished game as a freshman. He consistently found the soft spots in coverage and gave quarterback Demond Williams Jr. a dependable target underneath and over the middle. For a young receiver, that kind of feel is hard to fake.
Roebuck pointed to the work behind the scenes as a big part of why he gets open so often.
"I feel like it's a little bit of everything," he said of his ability to get open. "You've obviously got to take time out of your day to study with the coaches, study with the quarterbacks, study with other receivers in the room just so you are all on the same page and you have the quarterback's trust, but I also feel like I have a good feel for the game.
I know a lot, and I've been through a lot of stuff. I played early, last year I played in a lot of games, so just knowing what I've got to do and where I've got to get to get open."
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