Yough girl Roebuck turning heads at defensive end

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 13, 2017 | 8:06 PM

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The ginger-haired pony tail gave her away as she turned her back during a heat-acclimatization workout.

Freshman Kylie Roebuck blends in so well with her teammates — helmet, shoulder pads and grunts — the fact that she is a girl is practically irrelevant. That's the way her teammates see it, anyway.

Yough opened camp Monday and Roebuck was just one of the guys.

“The potential is there,” Yough junior lineman Nate McGill said of Roebuck playing varsity. “We're not surprised to see her out there. We all played midgets with her.”

But Roebuck is not a kicker who jogs in for extra points and runs to the sidelines, like she just smacked a bee hive with a broom.

She doesn't play where most football-savvy girls do. She is a defensive end (!).

“She can play offensive guard, too,” Yough coach Scott Wood said.

Yough will have plenty of size up front this fall, but Roebuck doesn't quite fit the mold of her much bigger teammates who hold down the line of scrimmage. She is just 5-foot-6 and 145 pounds.

But she said she wanted to be a lineman in youth football and has continued to learn the nuances of the positions.

“At first it was pretty hard when I started playing, with the heat and the pads,” Roebuck said. “But I got more comfortable the more I played. It comes natural to me. You just have to go out and give it your best.”

Growing up with two older brothers, Nathaniel and Brendan, both football players, gave Kylie early competition. Nathaniel will play baseball at St. Vincent.

“We all like to compete, and that made me tougher,” said Roebuck, who also plays basketball and volleyball. “I like to be my own individual.”

Brendan Roebuck said growing up in a male-dominated family gave Kylie the courage to simply “do what the boys do.”

“Watching us play is what convinced her to make the decision to play,” he said. “She said cheerleading wasn't exciting to her and wanted to try something new.”

Again, Yough players are used to seeing the Roebucks in football uniforms — even Kylie.

“She has played football her whole life,” Wood said. “She has a very sound technique. She knows the plays and gets after it. She has no fear.”

Roebuck takes hits and gives them — using as much driving force as she can muster against some of the Cougars' giants, like Scott Houseman (6-4, 310) and McGill (6-2, 285).

“She wants to hit. She likes the contact,” Wood said.

Roebuck got to play center in a seven-on-seven passing scrimmage against Greensburg Central Catholic and delivered a head-turning block.

“That felt good,” she said. “My first pancake.”

Yough does not have a freshman team, so Roebuck's best chance at seeing the field will be with the junior varsity team. But she probably will dress for varsity.

“Who knows?” Wood said. “If we're up late, she may get in.”

And probably try to hit somebody.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Yough