Demons' Roybal heading to Fort Lewis
By James Barron | The New MexicanPosted: 2/6/2012, 10:00 PM Mountain time
Ray Holladay had been Santa Fe High head football coach only a month in April 2009, when he met a lithe sophomore named Josh Roybal.
He was just 5-foot-7 and weighed "maybe 140 pounds," Holladay recalls, but Roybal already had a goal in mind -- he was going to play college football.
On Monday, in the weight room in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium, Roybal made good on his promise and signed a letter of intent to play at Division II Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
Now 5-9 and 175 pounds, Roybal will be a running back for the Skyhawks, who were 3-8 overall and 2-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Roybal ran for 685 yards for the Demons, which was second on the team, with seven touchdowns. He
was second on the team in receptions with 18, which was good enough for 313 yards and four touchdowns.
On the defensive end, he had 42 tackles -- which was again second on the team -- and had two fumble recoveries as a defensive back.
The signing ended a hectic winter for Roybal, who was entertaining offers from South Dakota School of Mines, Eastern New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. So much so, that he didn't play on the basketball team, where he was a starting point guard last season.
"The recruiting process is pretty stressful, so to have this done is pretty relieving," Roybal said. "Now, you can just focus and get ready for college and I think signing from Santa Fe
High just shows all my teammates what can be done when you really work at it."
For Holladay, Roybal sets a standard that he wants for his program, where players are thinking about a future behind high school. And it's not just about playing at the collegiate.
"Playing college football is playing college football," Holladay said. "On top of that, it's going to get some classes paid for, too."
Contact James Barron at 986-3045 or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at thereadbarron.com.
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