2022 Mountain West Football Top 50: #2, Air Force RB Brad Roberts
The Falcons fullback is the top-ranked Air Force player on our annual preseason list of the Mountain West’s best athletes.
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A bulldozer come to life.
The Air Force Falcons offense is one of the more satisfying things to watch in college football when everything is clicking, and fullback Brad Roberts had an especially big hand in making that happen last fall. That’s why he’s the number-two player on this year’s preseason list of the Mountain West’s top performers.
Though he didn’t see any action until the 2020 season, Roberts put the conference on notice by rushing for over 100 yards in his first career game against rival Navy. He’d eventually lead the Falcons with 461 rushing yards and five touchdowns after starting the last three contests, but that only scratched the surface of his capabilities.
In 2021, Roberts led the entire conference and set a program record with 298 carries while pacing the Mountain West with 1,352 yards, the third-most in Air Force history, and scoring 13 touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, Roberts recorded the highest overall grade among all fullbacks in college football, 85.0, according to Pro Football Focus. He also became the first Falcons running back to be named a first-team all-conference selection since the great Chad Hall in 2007.
Is there any reason to think he won’t deliver again in 2022? With an offensive line as efficient as ever in front of him, the fullback dive might be in vogue all fall once more.
.@Brad27_27 just doing Brad Roberts things 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZU1Gj3WnED
— Air Force Football (@AF_Football) November 14, 2021
Air Force has some tough runners. Brad Roberts (@Brad27_27) is especially hard to take down pic.twitter.com/sOY4abFwhJ
— Joe Broback (@joebroback) September 21, 2021
