Imagine living almost 500 miles away from the New Orleans area only to wake the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, to find the area your loved ones call home has been ravaged by a category three hurricane. Now imagine having to practice that Monday afternoon to prepare for a Friday night high school football game that seems slightly less important than the previous games you have played. That is exactly what four-star center recruit T-Bob Hebert faced after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. “I have a lot of family back there, and I was really worried about my uncle,” Hebert said. “One of my uncles wouldn’t evacuate and decided to stay so I was pretty nervous about him, but he ended up making it out OK after the hurricane turned.” Greater Atlanta Christian School’s offensive line coach Gary Richey said Hebert’s play seemed to elevate soon after Katrina hit. “Last year when the hurricane hit, he was really affected by that because his family’s from Baton Rouge,” Richey said. “So soon after that we played a team – a Catholic school – and he came off the ball and really just dominated that game coming off on middle linebackers.” Richey said he had never seen the 6-foot-3-inch, 256-pound center explode into his blocks like he did in that game. “They had a college prospect at middle linebacker, and he came off the ball and put the middle of his forehead right in the face mask of the guy,” Richey said. “This is a big ole linebacker – probably 6[-foot] 3[-inches], 230 [pounds] – big ole kid, and he just shocked him and gave him whiplash. It was one of those things where I think T-Bob was playing with some emotion that stemmed from what was going on in [New Orleans].” Hebert’s No. 2 ranking in the nation at center, according to Rivals.com, combined with a solid verbal commitment to LSU will give Hebert plenty of opportunities to block “big ole linebackers” over the next few years. Hebert, who benches 290 pounds, squats 405 pounds and runs a 4.95-second 40-yard dash, will likely receive a redshirt after injuring his shoulder this past season. The injury, although it required arthroscopic surgery to repair, is something T-Bob’s father and former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert Jr. said will not effect his son’s ability to perform for the Tigers.
ON THE WEB: Visit T-Bob Hebert’s high school Web site. “He actually played hurt the last eight games of the season with his shoulder,” Bobby Hebert Jr. said. “He couldn’t do any more damage to his shoulder, so he decided to play hurt and really played with one arm the last eight games. That being said, I know he’s still not finished growing so I just think when I look at players and how they develop; it’s in his best interest to be redshirted. Then by the time he’s 19 years old he will be a different man in terms of how to play the position.” As a junior, T-Bob Hebert had a 91 percent blocking average. He also recorded 54 pancake blocks – a block in which an offensive linemen forces defensive linemen to the ground – while only giving up five sacks. His accomplishments earned him first team All-American honors. T-Bob Hebert’s unusual name may have drawn attention to the center while he lived in Georgia, but he said coming back to Louisiana will help him blend in more with the Southern lifestyle. “It’s just part of the Cajun culture because my real name is Bobby Joseph Hebert III, and usually when a third is born they will call the kid ‘petit’ and then his name,” Hebert said. “So ‘T-Bob’ is short for ‘petit-Bobby’ which is French for ‘small Bobby.’ The irony is striking because I’m so much bigger than my dad.” “Petit-Bobby” said he realizes today is a big day for his football future and said his college experience will begin as soon as he signs his commitment letter. “I will sign [today],” Hebert said. “I’m not so much nervous. I’m just really looking forward to it. I’m ready to start getting to work.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]