Standout Marana High School senior receiver Sean Roebuck Jr. was hospitalized and is in recovery after a serious car crash left the football star with severe injuries that could keep him sidelined for the 2026 season.
Tucson Turf Elite founder and coach Toby Bourguet, a close family friend of the Roebucks who has coached Sean Jr. on his incredibly successful 7-on-7 football team for numerous years, shared a Facebook update on Monday that was first picked up by AllSportsTucson.com.
Bourguet’s update detailed Roebuck’s injuries, including a C7 vertebra fracture which will not require surgery, a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and several scrapes on his right side. Roebuck will require plastic surgery for a fractured right eye socket. He also suffered a broken jaw and a laceration on his liver.
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“Most importantly, he is moving all of his extremities and responding well to all of the neurological tests,” Bourguet said.
According to the initial post, Roebuck was sedated and intubated. In an update on Monday night posted by the Roebuck family on Instagram, it was shared that the teen had woken up and was becoming increasingly reactive.
“After everyone left today and things quieted down, he became much more responsive,” Sean Jr.’s mother, Monica, shared on social media. “He was opening his eyes and looking at us, following our voices and responding and moving his legs and arms when asked. It was so good to see him responding to us.”
On Tuesday, the family shared another update that Roebuck was off the ventilator and, “Headed in the right direction and is so much more happier and comfortable.”
The family expressed gratitude for the community’s support of their son and his recovery.
“We truly cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers, visits, food, messages and all the ways you have stepped in to help our family,” Monday night’s Instagram post read. “We feel incredibly loved and supported.”
The Marana Police Department is investigating the crash, but had not released the official report as of Tuesday and declined to share where or when it occurred.
Roebuck is the latest member of his prominent athletic family to star for Marana. Over the past decade, the family has heavily contributed to the Tigers’ rapid ascendancy in athletics.
He hauled in 89 catches for 1,076 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, leading Marana to the Class 5A quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Roebuck is the only returning Arizona Interscholastic Association 5A All-Conference First Team selection in the Tucson area.
Marana's Sean Roebuck lines up to receive a punt as the Salpointe student section lights up the stands with their phones in the second quarter, Aug. 29, 2025.
Roebuck’s older brother, Dezmen, was also a standout receiver for the Tigers. In 2024, he was the AIA 5A Conference Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year for football in Arizona, recording 95 catches for 1,131 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was a major contributor on the Marana team that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 Open Division Playoffs. Now at the University of Washington, Roebuck recorded 42 catches for 560 yards and seven touchdowns across 13 games last season.
Older sister Malaysia Roebuck starred as a flag football player for the Tigers. Sister Makayla and brother Isaiah both attended the University of Jamestown in North Dakota after successful years at Marana, the former as a wrestler and the latter as a football and baseball player.
On top of Roebuck’s injury, it has been a tumultuous month for Marana football. The program made headlines with the unexpected resignation of head football coach Phillip Steward on Aug. 5. Steward then rescinded his resignation less than 24 hours later, returning to the program.
Marana’s first game is on Thursday, Aug. 27, as the Tigers play host to the Lancers of Salpointe Catholic. Salpointe won the 2025 matchup 20-18.
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