Justin Roper will begin his third season as the Slippery Rock University football team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018. He was officially named to the position on March 1, 2016.
Slippery Rock’s offense has become one of the most explosive units in the country with Roper in charge. In 22 games The Rock has scored 30 or more points on 17 occasions with a 37.8 points per game average.
Three quarterbacks have started at least one game in the past two seasons on Roper’s watch in Don King III, Tanner Garry and Augustus Necastro. The trio combined to complete 62.2 percent of their passes (519-for-834) for 6,399 yards and 59 touchdowns.
Since coming to The Rock, Roper has coached nine offensive players that have been named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Team, four all-region performers and two All-Americans.
A season ago, Slippery Rock was fifth in the nation in passing offense (335.4), 11th in scoring (40.2 ppg), 11th in third down conversion percentage (.487), 22nd in first downs (270) and 23rd in total offense (456.5). SRU possessed the most potent offense in the PSAC a year ago as it ranked first in the 16-team conference in scoring, passing offense, first downs and third down conversion percentage while coming in second in total offense.
Wide receiver Marcus Johnson and offensive lineman Ian Park were both named All-Americans at the conclusion of the 2017 season while teammates Garry, Isiah Neely (RB) and Steve Gaviglia (OL) were all recognized as All-PSAC West performers.
Out of the 170 NCAA Division II football teams, Roper’s offense ranked 23rd in the nation in passing yards per game (294.0), 33rd in total first downs (265), 36th in completion percentage (.612) and 37th in points per game (35.5) in his first season at The Rock in 2016.
On the conference level, Slippery Rock ranked second in the PSAC in first downs per game (24.1), fourth in passing yards per game (294.0), fifth in points per game and fifth in total offense per game (436.0).
Under his guidance, wide receiver Marcus Johnson and running back Isiah Neely both earned All-PSAC West recognition, along with offensive lineman Steve Gaviglia. Three different quarterbacks saw time for The Rock. First-year starting quarterback Don King III ranked third in the league in passing touchdowns (24), fourth in completions (227), third in completion percentage (.610) and fifth in passing yards (2,668). True freshmen Augustus Necastro and Nathaniel Musselman were also forced into action, combining to throw for 554 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception.
Roper came to The Rock after spending two seasons on the coaching staff at Valdosta State in Georgia, where he helped the Blazers to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
He served as the quarterbacks coach and pro liaison in 2014 and 2015 and also spent time during the spring of 2015 coaching the offensive line, tight ends and coordinating the running game.
During his tenure at Valdosta, the Blazers posted a 19-6 overall record and reached at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs each year. Last fall, he coached a group of quarterbacks that completed 65.1 percent of their passes for 2,973 yards with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Starter EJ Hilliard led the attack with 2,425 yards, 22 touchdowns and five picks and freshman Roland Rivers added 548 yards, six TDs and just two interceptions. The pair also combined to rush for 458 yards and four TDs. The 65.1 percent completion rate was the 11th best mark in the nation. The 28 passing touchdowns were the most in the Gulf South Conference and the seven interceptions were the fewest thrown.
Valdosta’s offense averaged 36.2 points per game and 422.1 yards per game in 2015 on the way to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
In 2014, Valdosta posted a 10-3 record and reached the NCAA quarterfinals after averaging 32.6 points and 454.7 yards per game on offense. The quarterbacks that season completed 67 percent of their passes for 3,066 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Roper worked with starting quarterback Jake Medlock in 2014 and helped guide him to all-conference honors after a senior season in which he threw for 2,024 yards with 16 TDs and just four interceptions. Medlock also rushed for 717 yards and seven TDs. He finished the year ranked No. 1 in the country in completion percentage at 69.9 percent and was 12th in the nation in passing efficiency. He also set the Gulf South Conference record for completion percentage in a game when he went 19-of-20 and completed 19 consecutive passes against Mississippi College.
Prior to his two-year stint as the quarterback coach at Valdosta, Roper spent just over one year as the running backs coach at Division II Findlay (Ohio), where he also assisted with scouting reports, game planning and was responsible for film breakdown.
In his one season on the sideline with Findlay, he helped the Oilers to an 8-3 overall record as the offense produced 37.9 points and 504.5 yards per game. They rushed for 259.5 yards per game after being led by running back Daiquone Ford, who went for 1,789 yards and 24 touchdowns in just 10 games. The Findlay running backs lost just one fumble all season in 2013 when working with Roper. Ford went on to be named to first team all-conference honors and was named to the AP Little All-America team after the 2013 season.
Roper’s winning ways on the field as a coach are merely an extension of his playing career. The Buford, Georgia native led his high school football team to a 25-3 record and back-to-back regional championships as a starter from 2004-06. He was the starter on the team that broke the Georgia state record for consecutive wins (47) and was ranked as one of the top 28 quarterbacks in the nation in the 2006 class.
After being recruited by schools in the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Pac 12, Roper signed to play at the University of Oregon, where he would play quarterback in offensive systems under Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly.
Roper got his first collegiate start for Oregon in the 2007 Sun Bowl as a freshman. He would throw a Sun Bowl record four touchdown passes in that game and lead Oregon to a 56-21 victory. He ended up throwing for 952 yards with nine touchdowns and never lost a game he started at Oregon before making the decision to transfer out for his junior year looking for an offensive scheme that better suited his style of play.
He made the move to the University of Montana for the 2009 season, where he played QB for Bobby Hauck’s team that went on to win the Big Sky Conference title and reach the FCS National Championship game.
He was twice named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week in 2010 and finished his career with 3,788 yards and 36 touchdown passes. He totaled 4,053 career yards and 40 TDs and had a career completion percentage just under 60 percent. Roper also joined the Montana men’s basketball team that went on to win the 2010 Big Sky Tournament and had the opportunity to play in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
Following his collegiate career, Roper trained alongside Cam Newton in San Diego with famed quarterback trainer George Whitfield. He threw at the University of Georgia pro day, where AJ Green was one of his targets.
Roper signed an Arena Football League contract and started in four games for the Orlando Predators before tearing the labrum in his throwing shoulder. He threw for six touchdowns in his first professional start and broke a franchise record for Orlando when he threw six TDs in the first half of his third start.
Following the injury, Roper made the move to the coaching side of the game. He finished his bachelor’s degree in sociology at Montana in 2012 and began work on his master’s degree in business administration while he was at Findlay.
Collegiate athletics runs deep in Roper’s family as his parents, Donna and Brad, were both athletes at Georgia Tech. His father played football for the Yellow Jackets and served as an assistant coach and assistant athletic director at Georgia Tech from 1979-92. His mother was a member of the basketball team. Roper’s younger sister, Maggie, is a former volleyball student-athlete at Division II Georgia College.
