UW Roster Review: Dezmen Roebuck Shows No Fear, None Whatsoever

The receiver came in and started 10 games for the Huskies as a freshman.

Dezmen Roebuck tries to set up a tackler in the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

Dezmen Roebuck lined up to the right, ran to the middle of the field, leaped about two feet in the air and reached as high as he could to pull down an 11-yard pass.

That's when Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman arrived and tried to destroy any evidence the University of Washington wide receiver ever existed.

Thieneman took him down with a jarring and well-placed shoulder to the upper body, like a Rocky Balboa uppercut, with that blow alone maybe getting the Ducks defensive back selected 25th overall in the recent NFL Draft.

Roebuck had every reason to stay down and check for all of his limbs. Instead, he hopped to his feet and two plays later caught a 16-yard pass that nearly got him into the end zone. It was just business as usual.

“I would say that Dezmen is our toughest receiver by far," Husky receivers coach Kevin Cummings said this spring.

Dezmen Roebuck jumps to his feet after taking a hard hit from Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

The 5-foot-11, 184-pound Roebuck has no fear. Not over the middle. Not as a true freshman. Not as a kid from a small Arizona desert town near Tucson.

"My main focus is catching the rock," Roebuck said. "When I see the ball, I really don't care. It could be Ray Lewis, it could be anybody over there. As long as i see the ball in my area, I'm going to go get it." 

Dezmen Roebuck hangs onto the football after Oregon's Dillon Thieneman delivered a wicked blow. | Dave Sizer photo

In his first season with the Huskies, he did that 42 times for 560 yards and 7 touchdowns, ranking second on the team in every category to the departed Denzel Boston.

Roebuck did all of this without enrolling early and participating in 2025 spring ball, which is what every other new receiver managed to do.

He merely showed up cold for fall camp, made an impossible end-zone catch to introduce himself and was a starter by the third game of the season.

Dezmen Roebuck runs upfield with a Spring Game catch. | Dave Sizer photo

For the coming season, Roebuck will operate out of the slot and has a chance to be the next Boston, the UW's new No. 1 target, but he'll be a big part of the offense no matter if he's a first or second option.

Which is what happened when Roebuck got shot out of the sky last November in Husky Stadium by that headhunter named Thieneman. He just kept playing.

In spring ball, Cummings was still talking about that collision and how his guy survived it.

"You guys saw the Oregon game, when he caught the dig across the middle and took a big hit," the coach said to media members.

Well, yes, everyone could feel it all the way up in the press box.

What he's done: While he was lightly recruited, Roebuck emerged as the 2024 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year after finishing as the state's all-time leading high school receiver with 352 catches. Again, why did everyone else pass on him instead of to him? He also wears Demond Williams' old jersey No. 2 after trading in No. 81.

Starter or not: Without spring football, Roebuck was still able to come in and become a Husky starter by the Washington State game in the third week. He played in all 13 outings and opened 10 of them. With NCAA rules changes coming, he could have three or four more UW seasons he can play. Hit him if you can, but don't expect him to stay down.