Ohio State football journalist Austin Ward, who works for several different outlets, was on The Buckeye Show on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus when he dropped a substantial accusation against SEC member Oklahoma. Host Brandon Beam asked about what kind of impact Nate Roberts will have in 2026 after playing as a true freshman at the fullback position. Ward offered his insight on the situation and shared the following piece of information.
“I think last year is really interesting to look at with Nate Roberts because I certainly felt like he wasn't put in a real position to thrive there at fullback,” Ward began. “It does tell you that Ohio State had a tremendous amount of confidence in him that he could, as a true freshman, get on the field, (and) handle the responsibilities (of playing fullback.) He got out there right away against Texas…Clearly, you know, Keenan Bailey, Ryan Day, Brian Hartline, all trusted him pretty implicitly to get that done. And maybe it was also a bet on the future, getting him involved as a true freshman. Ohio State knew that other programs would continue to be trying to lure him away. Oklahoma did again this offseason, to try and get him into the transfer portal. (They were) trying to tamper in there to get this very talented tight end away. Ohio State believes that he's a future All-American in that position.”
Given the NCAA’s recent remarks about the seriousness of tampering, this accusation is not a throwaway comment. One has to believe that if Ward knows that the Sooners were tampering with Roberts, then Ohio State is obviously aware of the situation as well.
Obviously, the more attention a player gets, the higher his NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) value rises. It is possible that this smoke was more negotiation-driven than actual tampering. It’s impossible to know for sure at this point. However, if Oklahoma is indeed guilty of contacting Roberts illegally, the bigger question will be what the NCAA will do with this information.
It should also be noted that Nate’s older brother, Jake, spent his final season of eligibility playing for Oklahoma. Both Roberts brothers grew up and played their high school football in the state of Oklahoma.