{"id":21551,"date":"2025-11-13T14:22:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=21551"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:22:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:22:32","slug":"game-face-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/game-face-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Face: On"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This interview was conducted before Robertson was injured in a game shortly before the magazine went to press. For the latest, visit monmouthhawks.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derek Robertson rewrote the Monmouth record book last season, throwing for 3,937 yards and 31 touchdowns\u2014both single-season highs for the program. Now back for his final year, the Preseason First Team All-American is leading with the same quiet confidence that\u2019s become his trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case in point: In this season\u2019s opener against Colgate, Robertson rallied the Hawks from a 31\u20137 deficit, throwing for 506 yards and four touchdowns in a 42\u201339 win, the biggest comeback in program history. His postgame take? Pure humility: \u201cIt\u2019s really a credit to our receivers. \u2026 I have to be a lot better moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s Robertson in a nutshell: humble, appreciative, and always looking to improve. We caught up with him recently to talk old superstitions, new goals, and why he\u2019s just as steady off the field as he is in the pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LOW PROFILE, HIGH PERFORMANCE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I don\u2019t like being in the spotlight. I usually don\u2019t even tell people I play football, and when I do, I definitely don\u2019t mention that I\u2019m a quarterback. I love everything about being a quarterback. Both my older brothers played the position, so it\u2019s all I ever wanted to play. But outside of practices and games, I\u2019d rather stay in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not a \u201crah-rah\u201d type of player. I try to lead by example. My goal is to do everything right and set a standard for how we practice and play. If I\u2019m doing that, I can make sure everyone commits to that standard and it sets us up for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LESSONS FROM THE FAMILY PLAYBOOK.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My dad always says that no matter the situation, if you put the work in and trust the process, everything will fall into place. \u201cIt\u2019s all gonna be good,\u201d he\u2019ll say. I think it\u2019s a great approach to both football and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brothers have always stressed the importance of being a great teammate. They taught me that if you want to lead players, your teammates need to know that you\u2019re all about them and winning. There are different leadership styles, but to be in command, you have<\/em> to be a good teammate first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FAMILY TIES, ON AND OFF THE FIELD.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Having my older brother Jimmy as the quarterbacks coach here at Monmouth makes what I do every day even more special. I get to learn from him, study the game with him, and prepare for each week together. Not many people get to experience that with family, so we\u2019re both trying to take full advantage of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF STREAMS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m on social media, but I don\u2019t really post anything\u2014I just follow. I\u2019m a huge Barstool Sports guy; their content is hilarious, and I could watch their YouTube videos all day. When it comes to movies, I\u2019m big on the \u201cTaken\u201d series. I can watch those Liam Neeson movies any time they\u2019re on. Recently my roommates and I have been rewatching \u201cStranger Things\u201d because one of our teammates has never seen it. I think it\u2019s one of the best shows of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOME IS WHERE THE HAWKS ARE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Entering the transfer portal never crossed my mind after last season. I love it here at Monmouth, and I want to win a championship here. At the end of the day, I want to play with guys I love who also love to play football. That\u2019s what I have here at Monmouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NO BEATS, JUST BALANCE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve never been the type of player to do the same thing before every game. A lot of guys have their headphones on, getting hyped to music, but that\u2019s not really me. I like to stay mellow and focus on what we\u2019ve prepared for all week. I do have one superstition, though: I still wear the same girdle I\u2019ve had since high school. It\u2019s all ripped up, and some of the guys make fun of it, but I\u2019ll never change it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GAME PLANNING FOR LIFE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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After my playing days end, I want to be a college football coach. I\u2019ve known that since high school. I love the preparation process Sunday through Friday just as much as I love playing on Saturday. I can\u2019t really see myself doing anything else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Q&A with All-American QB Derek Robertson on fame, family, and the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":21556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":31,\"y\":45}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-21551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-alumni-student-faculty"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Athletics","issue":"Fall\/Winter 2025","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21551"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22072,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21551\/revisions\/22072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}