Roback visits two Big Ten schools

Toledo (Ohio) St. John's quarterback Brogan Roback has racked up the miles on his car this winter. On Sunday the 6-4, 190-pound passer attended Iowa's junior day in the morning and then drove four hours to catch a basketball game at Illinois that evening.

Roback had planned to attend Iowa's junior day for some time, but got a Facebook message from Illinois head coach Tim Beckman to swing through Champaign on his way home if he had time.

"Coach Beckman and I have a good relationship," Roback said. "He showed me around and I knew a lot of the coaches already from over at Toledo. I did meet the new quarterbacks coach and got to build a relationship with him. Coach Beckman took me and my family around for two hours, and he wants me to come back down in March for a spring practice."

Beckman offered Roback a scholarship before his junior year when the current Illini head man was in charge of Toledo's program. That relationship could produce an opportunity for Roback at Illinois.

"My coach told me he talked with Coach Beckman and thinks an offer is going to be on the table when I get back down there," Roback said. "I think it is just a matter of time right now. They are just getting settled in."

Roback has also been receiving strong interest from Iowa since last fall and looked forward to making a return visit to Iowa City.

"I had been over there twice, but it has been awhile and I wanted to go over there and make sure we were still on the same page," Roback said. "I wanted to go over there to talk to Coach Parker and see if I am still in there, and he said I am in the top three. They just want to see me throw - he said that is the only thing holding me back from an offer."

Iowa offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ken O'Keefe just left the program last week to take a position with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. How that would affect a potential scholarship offer was something Roback wanted to find out during his junior day visit.

"They didn't say if there would be delays right now, but I know [Parker] and Coach O'Keefe were watching my film a day or two before he found out he would be leaving," Roback said. "There was a guy in there who took over the quarterback meetings when I was there. He was a grad assistant and he said he has watched my film."

Roback plans to continue his junior day tour with a visit to Cincinnati on Feb. 18 and possibly one to Michigan State on Feb. 25. First, though, he will head down to Columbus to meet with new Buckeye's head coach Urban Meyer.

"I go there this Sunday for their junior day, and I am excited to meet their staff and see what new they can bring there," Roback said. "I've been talking to Ohio State actually a lot lately. Obviously Urban Meyer is there and you can tell by how many guys they racked up on Feb. 1st (National Signing Day) that he is really on the ball right now with recruiting."

Roback passed for 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior this past fall. He then went down to the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Junior Combine and took home first team all-combine honors.