Justin Roberts

Bio

Veteran college assistant coach Justin Roberts begins his third season on the staff at Oakland. The Hannibal, Mo., native coached the defensive line during the program’s 2022 state championship season and linebackers for the 2024 state championship season. Roberts served as a defensive analyst at LSU in 2023 under head coach Brian Kelly, working with linebackers and assisting with game plans and implementation of schemes for the Tigers. Prior to his first stint at Oakland, he worked 11 seasons at Tennessee State in Nashville, beginning as the defensive line coach from 2006-09 before serving as the defensive coordinator from 2011-15 and 2020-21. The Tigers ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense, sixth in total defense and third in third down conversion defense in 2013. TSU also ranked in the Top 20 in the country in total defense and third down conversion defense in 2014. Tennessee State made the second round of the FCS playoffs in 2013 and four defensive players earned All-OVC accolades in 2021. During his period away from TSU, Roberts served as the defensive line coach at Southern Miss in 2015, spent three seasons on the staff at Sam Houston State from 2016-18, tutoring defensive tackles, linebackers and the defensive line while serving as Assistant Head Coach for two years, and one season as a defensive analyst at N.C. State in 2019. Roberts started his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at North Carolina in 2000-01 and spent one year as a strength coach at Oklahoma State in 2004 before moving on to a defensive line coaching position for one year at Texas A&M-Commerce. He worked two seasons at Western Carolina as well, one with the defensive line and another coaching linebackers. Roberts earned his bachelor’s in Criminal Justice Administration from Missouri Southern State. He is married to his wife Jessica, and the couple has two daughters, Emma Claire and Harper.