Football: SRV's Roy Helu Jr. Drafted by Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins traded two fourth round picks to the Indianapolis Colts Saturday so they could move up in the round to select San Ramon Valley High alum Roy Helu Jr.

He ran for 1,245 yards this year for the University of Nebraska and was voted team MVP each of the last two years.

“I’m ready to go and compete,” Helu told Redskins.com. “I respect them as players and I’m really looking forward to earning their respect on the field and their respect as veterans.”

Former San Ramon Valley football coach Dave Kravitz said he remembered reading about Helu from his days with the San Ramon Valley T-Birds youth football team before he arrived at SRV as a freshman in 2003. 

"He had a lot of talent and speed, but he wasn’t a really big kid," Kravitz said. "As a sophomore we brought him up to varsity level (for a team that won the North Coast Section 3-A title). He didn’t win the starting job because we had Andy Cabianca and Matt Garratt."

That team also featured senior receiver Chris Carter,.

Kravitz said Helu missed most of the season with an injury coming before back bigger and stronger for his junior year.

"He worked his butt off," Garratt said. "He knew he wasn't going to get the starting job (at running back), but he started on kickoff return. He was a 'yes sir,' 'no sir' kind of guy.  You could sense he was going to be something special you could just tell he had the drive and the dedication."

He was the feature back for San Ramon in 2005 and drew significant recruiting interest from several Division-I powers including Oregon and Cal, but Helu ultimately settled on Nebraska. Helu ran for 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior for the Wolves in 2006. 

Helu was one of just 11 true freshman to play at Nebraska in 2007 and was the team's third-leading rusher with 209 yards. As a sophomore he finished 10th in the Big 12 conference in rushing and eclipsed the 1,000-yard as a junior.

Nebraska teammate Dejon Gomes, a James Logan High graduate from Hayward, and their Nebraska teammate Niles Paul also was drafted by Washington.

"I talked to Roy right after I got drafted," Gomes said. "He was probably one of the most important parts of our offense. He will do anything for his teammates and I'm glad we'll be on the same team again."

Kravitz, who coached at San Ramon Valley High for 17 years and now serves as an assistant football coach and the Athletic Director at California High, visited with Helu after he came home from the NFL combine.

"He came by the school to see me and said all the football stuff went well, but he thought the interviews went really well," said Kravitz, who hadn't had a former player get drafted until Helu. "He said he treated the whole experience like a job interview and it impressed some people there."

Just two rounds after Helu was picked, Monte Vista alum Ryan Whalen was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.