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Flames Home > Football Home > Coaching Staff > Coach DetailMarshall Roberts
Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive BacksCollege: Rutgers ('93)
Start Date: Feb 2004
Email: lufootball@liberty.edu
Marshall Roberts is the senior veteran on Liberty's coaching staff, as he enters his ninth year coaching on Liberty Mountain.
He brings a vast array of knowledge to the staff, having previously worked with football programs from the NFL, NFL Europe, Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, collegiate and high school ranks.
Roberts has seen several adjustments in his coaching position responsibilities during his time at Liberty. His most recent adjustment came when Turner Gill named him Liberty's new recruiting coordinator in January 2012.
Roberts' on-field coaching task will remain the same for the upcoming year, as he will be coaching Liberty's cornerbacks.
For the past three years, Roberts has served as Liberty's special teams coordinator, coaching some of the most talented special teams players in program history.
In 2011, two-time All-American kicker Matt Bevins graduated, leaving the program as Liberty's all-time leading scorer with 309 points, to go along with the career records for most field goals (58) and most field goal attempts (77).
Last year, Roberts instructed another All-America special teams player in Kevin Fogg, who led the country with three kickoff returns for a touchdown and averaged 33.5 yards per kickoff return.
Prior to taking over as special teams coordinator, Roberts served as Liberty's defensive backs coach since joining the staff in 2004. Roberts played a significant role in helping Liberty set eight defensive team records in 2006, including fewest points allowed (172), fewest total touchdowns allowed (21), most shutouts (3) and fewest total average offensive yards per game (306.0). In 2006, Liberty finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally in scoring defense (15.64 points per game).
Individually, Roberts has had an impact on several of his players, with 10 defensive backs taking home Big South all-conference honors under his tutelage.
Roberts' defenders played a vital role in Liberty's record-setting 10-2 campaign in 2008, helping the Flames finish the season ranked No. 14 nationally in the final polls. Three of the Flames top six defenders were from the secondary, an impressive figure considering Liberty's ran a linebacker-heavy 3-4 defensive scheme.
Roberts came to Liberty from East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, Pa., where he served as the secondary coach/special teams coordinator from 2000-03. He helped guide the Warriors to back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division titles in 2002 and 2003.
Prior to his collegiate days, Roberts served as a coaching intern for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two months during the summer of 2002 and the secondary coach with NFL Europe's Frankfurt Galaxy during the 2002 season.
In 1999, Roberts served as the head football coach at Abington High School in Abington, Pa., while overseeing the defense, special teams and the passing game. He started his master's degree at East Stroudsburg in 1998, serving as a graduate assistant with the Warriors and was responsible for the secondary.
Roberts played professionally in the Arena Football League for four years and another year with the Canadian Football League. He played with the AFL's Orlando Predators during the 1994 and 1995 seasons as a defensive/return specialist. He spent the 1996 season with the Albany Firebirds as a defensive specialist and played for the Milwaukee Mustangs as a receiver/defensive back in 1998. He coached the receivers and defensive backs with the Anaheim Piranhas in 1997. He also played for the CFL's Sacramento Gold Miners as a defensive back and punt returner in 1993.
Roberts is a 1993 graduate of Rutgers, where he was a four-year letterwinner under former Flames' Defensive Coordinator Steve Carson. The four-year starter at cornerback and punt returner finished as Rutgers' all-time leader in career punt returns with 1,018 yards and 91 returns (averaging 11.1 yards per return).
He was an All-ECAC, East and AP corner and return specialist in 1991 and was named to the 1992 BIG EAST preseason all-conference team, while finishing the season ranked 12th in the country in punt returns.
Roberts, a native of Abington, Pa., and his wife, Alicia, have one son, Tripp.
Roberts at a Glance
Year at Liberty: Nine
Coaching Experience:
2004 – Present (8 years) - Liberty (DB, ST, CB, Rec. Coord.)
2000-03 (4 years) – East Stroudsburg (DB, ST)
2002 (2 months) – Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) (Intern)
2002 (1 year) – Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe) (DB)
1999 (1 year) – Abington HS (HC)
1998 (1 year) – East Stroudsburg (DB)
1997 (1 year) – Anaheim Piranhas (AFL) (WR/DB)
1996 (1 year) – LaSalle HS (DB)
1994-95 (2 years) – Abington HS (Asst. Coach)
Recruiting Area: Lynchburg/Central Virginia, Upstate South Carolina, Southern Georgia, Pennsylvania, Eastern Maryland
Education: B.A., Administration of Justice (Rutgers, '93); M.A., Education (East Stroudsburg, '03)
Hometown: Abington, Pa.
Wife: Alicia
Child: Tripp
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