Walker-Roby following older brother's footsteps

When football recruit Brandon Walker-Roby steps onto the field at Memorial Stadium for his first game as a Hoosier next year, he will be following in the footsteps of family.\nThe Indianapolis North Central High School graduate is the younger brother of IU's all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions, Courtney Roby. Because of this, IU coach Terry Hoeppner said Walker-Roby has some big shoes to fill if his new wide receiver wants to get out from his brother's shadow.\nBut Walker-Roby is confident.\n"That's true because of Courtney, so people expect a lot of me," Walker-Roby said. "So I have to come out and put up the big numbers."\nWalker-Roby's journey to IU began during his junior year of high school. Even though the 6-foot, 170-pound wide receiver had only about 300 yards that year, former IU coach Gerry DiNardo invited him to camp that summer.\nAt that time, the coaching staff did not heavily recruit him due to an injured ankle. However, Walker-Roby persisted, sent the coaches some film and created just enough curiosity to get DiNardo out to the 2004 North Central-Bloomington South football game. In that game, Walker-Roby caught three passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.\n"He worked hard, he was a receiver that made big time catches in big games, and he was a team player," said Paul Loggan, former coach and assistant athletics director at North Central.\nThe deal to bring the standout to Hoosier country seemed like a done deal, but after another losing season, newly inducted athletics director Rick Greenspan closed the door on the DiNardo era, leaving the IU recruit in a predicament.\n"Before, I was skeptical because of DiNardo not being there, but now I feel this staff has big things going for it," Walker-Roby. "I'm excited to play for Hoeppner and Indiana. I like his style of play and he's a players' coach." \nWalker-Roby knows all too well what it is like to follow the path of his older brother. He has been doing it all of his life, whether it was middle school football or high school football and now college, but Walker-Roby wants everyone to realize that even though they are brothers, they are still two different people.\nThe newly signed Hoosier knows the challenges that await him as a freshman on the roster when he arrives in Bloomington next fall, but that isn't stopping him from setting his sights high. \n"Not only do I want to come in right away and make a big impact, but I want to break Courtney's record and take this team to its first bowl game in the 21st century," Walker-Roby said. \nHoeppner acknowledged the challenge Walker-Roby faces because of his surname, but also admitted he isn't quite sure of what he has in mind for his new wide receiver just yet.\n"Wide receiver is a tough position to play," Hoeppner said, "I haven't had many freshmen play wide receiver, because it is not just running routes drawn up in the notebook. The mental part of being a wide receiver is not easy."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu.