Wake Forest hires Dyrell Roberts as receivers coach
Wake Forest announced Monday afternoon that Dyrell Roberts has been hired as the football program’s new wide receivers coach.
It’s an in-state move for Roberts, who spent the last three seasons at East Carolina. He’s replacing Nick Edwards, who spent one season at Wake Forest and is reportedly set to be hired at Oklahoma State.
“He is an outstanding teacher and a genuine leader who is intentional about developing players on and off the field,” Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert said of Roberts, through a news release. “Dyrell believes in what we’re building at Wake Forest and wants to be part of something special, and that alignment is exactly what we look for in our program.”
ECU ranks 21st in the country this season for passing yards per game (272.7). The Pirates had one 1,000-yard receiver, Anthony Smith, along with two others — Yannick Smith and Brock Spalding — who had 583 and 554 yards.
Wake’s top receiver this season is Chris Barnes, with 547 yards. He won’t play in Friday night’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl because he’s transferring; Carlos Hernandez (538 yards) is likely to finish the season as the leading receiver.
Before working at ECU, Roberts was wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at Western Illinois. He also held assistant coaching positions at Eastern Michigan, Virginia Tech (his alma mater), Norfolk State, Saint Joseph’s College, Earlham College and ASA College.
“My family and I are incredibly grateful to Coach Dickert for the opportunity to join Wake Forest and for the trust he’s placed in me,” Roberts said through a news release. “From our first conversations, it was clear how special this place is and how intentional the vision is for building something sustainable and meaningful.”
Roberts played at Virginia Tech from 2008-12. He remains VT’s all-time leader in kick return yardage (1,577) and kick return average (25.9).
