Roberson tranfers to Illinois State

Just five days after announcing he was transferring from IU, former Hoosier quarterback Tre Roberson has transferred to Illinois State, Redbirds Coach Brock Spack announced Monday.

The 6-foot, 203-pound redshirt junior has two years of eligibility remaining and will be able to play this season because Illinois State is a Football Championship Subdivision School.

He enrolled in summer courses at Illinois State and might be in the running for a starting spot immediately.

“We know a lot about Tre and his abilities as a quarterback,” Spack said in an Illinois State release. “We have had a lot of success recruiting Indianapolis and the surrounding areas and knew about Tre coming out of high school, his success and the high-level coaching he received.”

Roberson joins an Illinois State quarterback roster that saw three players — senior Jared Barnett, junior Adam Pittser and sophomore Blake Winkler — take snaps in 2014.

Winkler saw the most playing time and had the most success. He played in 10 games, completing 58.5 percent of his passes for 1,637 yards and 12 touchdowns while also throwing eight interceptions.

In the past season, Roberson appeared in all 12 games for IU, making four starts. The Indianapolis native completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 1,128 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 423 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground while splitting time with Nate Sudfeld.

Spack mentioned four other quarterbacks in the team’s press release, indicating Roberson will be in a five-man race for the starting spot.

“Like anyone else, he will need to get situated here, learn the playbook, get to know his teammates and coaches and get a head start academically,” Spack said. “That is the first test for transfers and by no stretch of the imagination does he think he is going to be the guy. Tre knows that he will have to compete with good players to earn the job this fall.”

Sam Beishuizen