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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

The walk-on: Roundtree fulfills dream of playing at IU

Football vs MSU

Isaiah ‘Zeke’ Roundtree only wanted to play at Indiana.

The senior receiver knew it. His parents knew it. His friends knew it.

It was all he ever talked about.

Around the start of his senior year at Lawrence Central High School, Zeke started sending out recruiting letters with his mother, Romona, father, Ronald, and his brothers.

Together, Zeke and his family wrote each letter, put in highlight tapes, stamped the envelopes and sent them out across the country.

Nearly 100 schools were contacted, but Romona said there was really only one school Zeke cared about.

“In the midst of all of it, he ?really only wanted to go to IU,” Romona said. “He didn’t want to play anywhere else.”

Weeks after sending out his recruiting letters, the Roundtree family got a response from Bloomington and then-Coach Bill Lynch.

He was denied.

All Zeke wanted to do was play for IU, but IU didn’t want Zeke.

“That was hard for him,” Romona said. “But I told him, ‘You can still go to IU. You’ve just got to go make them want you.’”

So he went to Morehead State. And that’s where Zeke’s journey to Bloomington would begin.

***

Zeke never took a snap for ?Morehead.

The second Romona dropped her son off in Morehead, Ky., she said she knew he wouldn’t be there long.

Zeke said he never felt comfortable. He didn’t even like playing football — the game he grew up loving — on scholarship for them.

He kept reapplying to schools. But his mind was still on ?Bloomington.

“I was just thinking, ‘How can I get there?,’” Zeke said. “I knew I still wanted to go there.”

As time passed, Zeke decided he needed to leave Morehead State.

Both Ball State and Butler contacted him, offering him a full football scholarship. After not being recruited hard out of high school, Zeke was finally getting the looks he hadn’t gotten before.

Zeke called his mom to share the news.

“Mom, Mom. They’re offering me a scholarship, what should I do?’” Zeke asked.

“Isaiah, I hear you loud and clear,” Romona said. “But you told me you just wanted to go to IU. What happened to that?”

Zeke got quiet.

“But Mom, they didn’t accept me,” Zeke said.

Romona had an idea.

“Can’t you just walk on?”

***

Meanwhile, in Bloomington, a second opportunity was developing.

Coach Lynch was on his way out, and IU Coach Kevin Wilson was on his way in.

Zeke’s close friend and high school quarterback Tre Roberson was being recruited heavily by then IU offensive-coordinator Rod Smith.

When Smith came to meet with Roberson, Lawrence Central Coach Jayson West showed Smith tape of Zeke, who at the time was a ?running back.

That began the sales pitch.

Roberson fought for his friend. So much so that Zeke still credits Roberson — who transferred from IU in June — for convincing IU to take Zeke in the first place.

Smith told Zeke that he liked the potential he saw in him, but IU didn’t have a scholarship to offer him.

Zeke was told he could come to IU as a walk-on with a caveat for a scholarship.

“He told me, ‘If you look like how you look in this film, then you can earn yourself a scholarship,’” ?Zeke said.

Zeke had a decision to make.

Before fully considering the opportunity at IU, Zeke had decided he would play for Butler.

Romona even paid a $300 ?admission fee.

He could either play under scholarship at Butler or come to IU as a walk-on without any guarantee of even making the final team.

Without much hesitation, Zeke made his decision.

He was going to IU.

He told his father, but he was hesitant to tell his mother, who had paid $300 for Butler already. He didn’t know how she would react.

“He was afraid to tell me,” Romona said, laughing. “But his dad said he had better tell his mom.”

So Zeke called his mother with the news that he was going to IU as a walk-on. No guarantees.

“He said, ‘Mom, now don’t be mad, but I’m not going to Butler anymore,’” Romona said. “‘I’m going to Indiana as a walk-on.’”

***

NCAA transfer rules meant Zeke wasn’t eligible to play his freshman season at IU.

He was relegated to the scout team, where the player’s role is to prepare the starters for the upcoming game.

IU senior receiver Nick Stoner said it’s easy for scout team players to take shortcuts or not play full-go. It’s easy to feel unimportant when your job is to simulate opponents.

But Zeke relished the opportunity. He said he was free to play however he wanted. It was his opportunity to catch the coaches’ attention.

At the time, Stoner was a cornerback who regularly went up against Zeke. From day one, Stoner could tell his opponent wouldn’t be taking scout team lightly.

“He was making plays, man,” Stoner said. “He would destroy us. He was one of those kids who stood out.”

Zeke was named IU’s scout team player of the week five times that season.

He never wanted to take a play off. Each play was a chance for him to impress the coaches enough to earn a scholarship.

If the coaches didn’t learn who Zeke was, he wouldn’t have a chance of getting his school paid for.

“I remember that kid breaking loose on us so many times because he wanted to make a name for himself,” Stoner said.

Romona said she understands why someone might question Zeke’s decision to come to IU.

He was passing up schools that wanted him for one that, had in a way, broken Zeke’s heart.

“But it didn’t matter to him,” Romona said. “Because guess what? Even though he had to sit out, he was still where he wanted to be. And he was happy. That’s the thing. He was happy.”

***

If there’s a joke going around the locker room, the source isn’t usually too hard to find.

“Oh, it’s normally Zeke,” IU senior linebacker David Cooper said. “He’s hilarious. Probably the funniest guy on the team.”

Cooper isn’t alone in that sentiment. Even Zeke himself will admit it.

“Yeah, probably,” Zeke said when asked if he is the funniest in the locker room. “My whole family is like that. Everybody is silly. That’s how we do things.”

When Zeke was a child, Romona admits it was hard disciplining her son.

He never took his parents’ punishments seriously. He’d always find a way to turn a chastisement into a joke.

In church, Romona would catch a young Zeke making mocking faces at his brothers around him, only to act like he wasn’t doing anything wrong when she turned around.

“When someone would say ‘Amen,’ we’d turn around and he’d be sitting there like he’s really tuned into what the pastor said,” Romona said.

Romona says Zeke didn’t have a choice when it came to his personality. She believes it’s inherited.

The Roundtree family is always joking around. It’s Zeke’s way of making light of sometimes dark situations.

Zeke says he almost feels obligated to make people laugh.

He knows he’s funny and he knows teammates respond well to it.

So when he sees a teammate having a rough day, he brings the heat. And when it comes to jokes, anyone could be a target.

Zeke says his proof is in his Twitter. He claims in his bio is that he made the Mona Lisa blink.

“He’ll make fun of anything,” Stoner said. “He can make anybody laugh. When we’re tired or feeling down about our day, he brings joy.

“When Zeke comes in the room, he lights it up.”

***

When Zeke made his decision to come to IU, he made a promise with his mother.

“‘Mom, I promise you you’ll only have to get me in and pay one loan,’” Romona said, recalling the promise. “‘Just trust me, mother. I’m going to make sure the rest of this will pay for itself.’”

Zeke came through with his promise.

In his three seasons as a walk-on, Zeke has earned a scholarship each year.

The way the scholarship is set up allows it to be renewed each year based on ?performance.

If Zeke doesn’t earn it, IU doesn’t have to give it back.

Zeke admits it can be stressful. A walk-on is under constant pressure to perform.

An injury could spell disaster. A bad month or two could make the scholarship ?disappear.

So when life got difficult, Zeke prayed.

“A lot of it is prayer,” Zeke said. “I just prayed. I prayed to be in this position and I pray to stay in this position.”

Just before Zeke’s senior season began, Wilson approached Zeke at practice to tell him he had once again earned his scholarship.

He had fulfilled his promise to his mother.

His prayer was answered.

As Zeke lifted his pen after signing the scholarship, the emotions hit home. He immediately texted his parents to share the news.

“Once you sign the paper, it’s like, ‘Thank God, I did it again,’” Zeke said.

***

Off the field, Zeke is quiet.

He doesn’t go out much. He spends a lot of time in his room alone or with his ?girlfriend.

Senior receiver and Zeke’s best friend, Shane Wynn, thinks it’s almost funny. The Zeke the media and outside world sees doesn’t completely line up with the Zeke that Wynn knows.

“He’s quiet outside of football,” Wynn said.

Zeke’s a video-game enthusiast. Madden, 2K, FIFA — you name it, Zeke thinks he can beat you in it.

He says he’s the best at FIFA, but he’s also quick to point out he rarely ever loses in 2K.

He usually lets his opponent pick their team first, then he picks his team. But he admits he’s a Chelsea fan in FIFA and usually goes with them.

In Madden, it’s whatever team Ted Ginn Jr. is on. Right now, it’s the Arizona ?Cardinals.

“Madden, 2K, FIFA,” Wynn said, “I can’t beat him at any of them.”

Zeke says there’s a reasoning behind his seemingly split personalities.

In football, he knows he’s expected to bring the energy. People thrive off his personality. He takes pride in being a vocal leader.

Off the field, he wants to relax. Sometimes, the thing he really wants to do is ?nothing at all.

“When I’m away from it, I just keep to myself,” Zeke said. “I don’t do a lot of talking. But when it’s time to turn it on, I turn it on.”

***

Zeke stands along the North Endzone outside the weight room at Memorial ?Stadium.

The 5-foot-11 receiver stands almost unnoticed. He’s wearing a white towel wrapped around his head to help him cool down after practice.

Four years after leaving Morehead State for IU, Zeke feels at home standing beside Hep’s Rock.

If someone would have told Zeke five years ago he’d be standing there, he probably wouldn’t believe it.

But it’s his home now. It’s where he always wanted ?to be.

“The only thing that made him feel comfortable enough to go this far, and I really believe this, is that he wanted me to be OK with it,” Romona said. “I knew he wanted to play at IU. I knew he could. He just needed to stick with the plan.”

Zeke isn’t sure what the next phase in the plan is.

He might want to work in marketing or anything that lets him be around people and showcase his personality.

But as he stands next to Hep’s Rock in the stadium he grew up wanting to play in, Zeke’s taking everything in.

He’s excited to be the senior receiver on the team. He gets loud when he starts talking about how much talent he thinks freshman wideout J-Shun Harris has.

Zeke doesn’t care as much about the catches or the yards. He wants to be remembered for being the walk-on who constantly worked for what he wanted.

“Man, I’m still that walk-on player I always was,” Zeke said. “Every day I have to earn it. When I leave, I just want people to still talk about how I brought energy every day. How I always brought it and made people happier.”

After games, Zeke always calls his mother to talk, and it’s almost always the same. Whether he caught a touchdown or never saw the field, he’s always the same.

“What up momma, what are y’all doing?”

“It’s just joy,” Romona says. “He’s just happy. That’s what I love about him. You can’t read him. He’s where he always wanted to be.”

Romona paused.

“He made it.”

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