A Phinsider Look at Roberto Wallace

Born May 10, 1986, young Roberto Wallace out of Panama City most likely never envisioned himself playing American Football, as the only thing he really knew about it was that it was like rugby and pads were used. Son of Roberto Wallace Jr. and Elvia Wallace, Roberto grew up playing soccer his whole life; he even played in the Sub-14 division in Panama as a forward, due to his large size in the penalty box.  His father was in the U.S Army, and after the "contract" between U.S and Panama ended, Roberto and his family moved to Puerto Rico. Like any good father, Wallace Jr. wanted everything for his son and accompanied him to the U.S where he could live with his aunt, Demaris Davis, in San Diego. Wallace, who lost a year of High School due to family problems, started his High School career in Oceanside High, and shortly after, he began his journey of becoming an elite "American" football player.

OCEANSIDE HIGH SCHOOL:

At first, Wallace really had no desire of playing Football, but after much persuasion from the head coach of Oceanside; Wallace decided to give it a try. Roberto was an immediate sensation in high school earning a plethora of recognition by becoming a top 50 receiving prospect, an all-league, all-CIF, & all-region select, and the 59th most wanted prospect in California, which he all earned by racking up 23 catches for 353 yards as a Junior and averaging 18 YAC as a Senior.  Before RW could even catch his breath, he was offered by San Diego State University and committed on October 15, 2004.

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY:

Wallace had a rough first couple of years in SDSU as in 2005 he redshirted, 2006 he had a bad shoulder injury, and 2007 he was back-up for most of the season (did receive his first tackle and catch during this season.) However, in 2008, Wallace’s luck had finally changed. Roberto played in 11 games that season becoming third in the team in receiving, catching his first TD of his college career, and even winning a title. RW said that it was tough at times in SDSU, as he had to go through 3 coaches. His last coach however (Brady Hoke) ended up being his most useful one of the three because his offense was very similar to that of the Dolphins. Wallace finished his Aztec days and was ready to take his talents to the next level.

MIAMI DOLPHINS:

Coming out of college, Wallace hired an agent and started preparing for the draft. At the scouting combine, he turned some heads running a 4.4 "40" and was speculated to be drafted late 5th early 6th, but as we all know, that didn’t happen. Wallace was disappointed but held his head up high and called up three NFL Teams: Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, and the Miami Dolphins. After spending a good amount of his life in SD, picking the Chargers was a no brainer, but Roberto said, "He needed a change." Miami offered him a small bonus and Wallace took it. RW didn’t see much action in 2010 as he played a reserve role 12 times and was inactive 4 times. However, Wallace did receive his first starting role against the Jets in a thrilling Sunday Night game.

Wallace now enters his second year as a Miami Dolphin and so far has been turning heads at training camp practices and at Pre-Season games. Two weeks ago at Atlanta, Wallace caught three passes, two of them for 25+ yards and one for a touchdown which caught the eye of many fans, coaches, and players. With a Brandon Marshall-like physique and a Brandon Marshall mentor, Wallace sill seeks to become a starter in this prestigious league and break boundaries for thousands of Latin Americans who want to play football. However, one thing is certain for this Panamanian, being able to make it in the NFL after only playing the sport for 8 YEARS is an accomplishment enough, and something tells me the odds aren’t against him to achieve his goal that started in 2002.