Keep eye on Robinson
Bloodlines may help wide receiver be really good
Corey Robinson (Photo provided.)
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E-mailBy BOB WIENEKE
Irish Sports Report
11:00 pm, May 07, 2012
Irish Sports Report
Note: Tribune staff writer Bob Wieneke early last week spoke with
three analysts to discuss a number of topics concerning Notre Dame
football recruiting.
The following are answers from Rivals.com national recruiting
analyst Mike Farrell, CBS Sports Network analyst Tom Lemming and
247Sports.com national recruiting writer Steve Wiltfong.
This is the second of three parts. For part one, visit
www.southbendtribune.com.
Bob Wieneke: If there is a sleeper in this class, who is he?
Mike Farrell: “I’m going to say (wide receiver) Corey Robinson.
He’s obviously just starting to come into his own as a football
player. We know he’s got the genes (Robinson is the son of former NBA
great David Robinson), but genes don’t matter if your dad’s a
6-foot-10 basketball player and you’re a wide receiver.
“But I saw him at the combine down in San Antonio in January and he
was really a lot more polished than I expected. Great athlete as you
would definitely expect. A great leaper as you would expect. Doesn’t
play the best competition down there, but the type of kid I think
could come up and really surprise some people.”
Tom Lemming: “(Cornerback) Rashad Kinlaw missed a good part of
last season because of injuries, but I saw his sophomore film when he
had 32 snaps at corner — he had five interceptions and five pass
deflections. He was on his way to becoming the most celebrated
cornerback in the East until that injury.
“He also plays quarterback in high school. He’s quick.
He’s got length. Notre Dame loves length. He’s at least 6-foot, maybe
6-1. Six-foot is tall for a corner. He’s got perfect corner size and
elite 4.4 to 4.5 (40-yard dash) speed. If you watch him on film he can
turn and run, and he’s smooth in transition, so he’s got the natural
cornerback skills.”
Steve Wiltfong: “I hate the word sleeper because generally it’s
the guy who’s the lowest ranked. For us I believe that’s Corey
Robinson.
“If you look at the bloodlines, and you look at his father and then
you look at him, you say, hey, this kid might not even be done
physically maturing.
“On top of that he’s a good football player, a guy that Notre Dame got
in early on. I would think that if Corey Robinson was uncommitted
going into this evaluation period, he would land several offers.
“But Notre Dame was the first to offer him, recognized that he can be
a nice player in the spread offense. He’s around 6-4, 200 now, but you
don’t know how big this young man can get. The athletic ability is
certainly there.”
Wieneke: What is the biggest remaining need?
Farrell: “I would probably say the D-line. You’ve got to get
some D-linemen in here, and I know they’ve done very well along the
D-line, but in a 3-4 — and it’s not a 3-4 all the time — but when
you’re in a 3-4 set at times, you need some big guys on the nose.
“They got Sheldon Day last year and I think they need another guy like
that, another space hog up front that can really do some damage for
them.
“And especially with (Aaron) Lynch leaving, I think the defensive line
is what I’d look at. A lot of people say running back and some of the
more glamorous positions, but I would say you want that inside
defensive tackle or that big, big 3-4 end who could play a 5-technique
over the tight end.”
Lemming: “They need a big-time tailback. That’s real important
for Notre Dame, a (Joliet Catholic) Ty Isaac-type of a ballplayer, an
impact running back.
“They have not been able to land an impact running back since Julius
Jones. Now they’ve got a guy (Isaac) from a high school that’s known
for sending their players to Notre Dame.”
Wiltfong: “Notre Dame has already addressed two big areas of
need at offensive line and corner. I think Notre Dame still needs to
add another corner, if not two guys to the secondary. Safety is not a
huge need, but perhaps a swing guy, a guy that could play both corner
and safety.
“They’ve got Rashad Kinlaw and Devin Butler (at corner), but they’d
like to land at least one more frontline corner. Butler and Kinlaw
were really good gets and if they could add a Cole Luke (Chandler,
Ariz.) or someone like that to round out the class, that’d be
fantastic.
“Last year Notre Dame had the best class in the country at a huge need
(cornerback) in getting Tee Shepard and Ronald Darby, and then it
shook out and they didn’t get either of those guys, so that made it a
need again this year.
“They thought they had corner taken care of last year so that’s no
fault to them. It came apart at the end and that happens. Kids
decommit all the time. For whatever reason, Notre Dame wasn’t able to
hold on to Darby and Shepard.
“Looking at Notre Dame’s (cornerback) depth chart, whoever they get,
those guys are going to have a chance to come in and impact the
two-deep right away.
“But the biggest remaining need would be at linebacker. I could see
them taking up to four, with (Fort Wayne’s) Jaylon Smith obviously
being a guy at the top of everybody’s list, and Notre Dame may be at
the top of his list right now.
“Chans Cox (of Lakeside, Ariz.) is another guy that Notre Dame’s in
good shape with at this point. Those are two guys that immediately
come to mind. Alec James (Brookfield, Wis.) is another guy that they
just had on campus that fits that outside linebacker role. I don’t
know if Notre Dame leads for him, but they’re certainly in his top
three.”
three analysts to discuss a number of topics concerning Notre Dame
football recruiting.
The following are answers from Rivals.com national recruiting
analyst Mike Farrell, CBS Sports Network analyst Tom Lemming and
247Sports.com national recruiting writer Steve Wiltfong.
This is the second of three parts. For part one, visit
www.southbendtribune.com.
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Mike Farrell: “I’m going to say (wide receiver) Corey Robinson.
He’s obviously just starting to come into his own as a football
player. We know he’s got the genes (Robinson is the son of former NBA
great David Robinson), but genes don’t matter if your dad’s a
6-foot-10 basketball player and you’re a wide receiver.
“But I saw him at the combine down in San Antonio in January and he
was really a lot more polished than I expected. Great athlete as you
would definitely expect. A great leaper as you would expect. Doesn’t
play the best competition down there, but the type of kid I think
could come up and really surprise some people.”
Tom Lemming: “(Cornerback) Rashad Kinlaw missed a good part of
last season because of injuries, but I saw his sophomore film when he
had 32 snaps at corner — he had five interceptions and five pass
deflections. He was on his way to becoming the most celebrated
cornerback in the East until that injury.
“He also plays quarterback in high school. He’s quick.
He’s got length. Notre Dame loves length. He’s at least 6-foot, maybe
6-1. Six-foot is tall for a corner. He’s got perfect corner size and
elite 4.4 to 4.5 (40-yard dash) speed. If you watch him on film he can
turn and run, and he’s smooth in transition, so he’s got the natural
cornerback skills.”
Steve Wiltfong: “I hate the word sleeper because generally it’s
the guy who’s the lowest ranked. For us I believe that’s Corey
Robinson.
“If you look at the bloodlines, and you look at his father and then
you look at him, you say, hey, this kid might not even be done
physically maturing.
“On top of that he’s a good football player, a guy that Notre Dame got
in early on. I would think that if Corey Robinson was uncommitted
going into this evaluation period, he would land several offers.
“But Notre Dame was the first to offer him, recognized that he can be
a nice player in the spread offense. He’s around 6-4, 200 now, but you
don’t know how big this young man can get. The athletic ability is
certainly there.”
Farrell: “I would probably say the D-line. You’ve got to get
some D-linemen in here, and I know they’ve done very well along the
D-line, but in a 3-4 — and it’s not a 3-4 all the time — but when
you’re in a 3-4 set at times, you need some big guys on the nose.
“They got Sheldon Day last year and I think they need another guy like
that, another space hog up front that can really do some damage for
them.
“And especially with (Aaron) Lynch leaving, I think the defensive line
is what I’d look at. A lot of people say running back and some of the
more glamorous positions, but I would say you want that inside
defensive tackle or that big, big 3-4 end who could play a 5-technique
over the tight end.”
Lemming: “They need a big-time tailback. That’s real important
for Notre Dame, a (Joliet Catholic) Ty Isaac-type of a ballplayer, an
impact running back.
“They have not been able to land an impact running back since Julius
Jones. Now they’ve got a guy (Isaac) from a high school that’s known
for sending their players to Notre Dame.”
Wiltfong: “Notre Dame has already addressed two big areas of
need at offensive line and corner. I think Notre Dame still needs to
add another corner, if not two guys to the secondary. Safety is not a
huge need, but perhaps a swing guy, a guy that could play both corner
and safety.
“They’ve got Rashad Kinlaw and Devin Butler (at corner), but they’d
like to land at least one more frontline corner. Butler and Kinlaw
were really good gets and if they could add a Cole Luke (Chandler,
Ariz.) or someone like that to round out the class, that’d be
fantastic.
“Last year Notre Dame had the best class in the country at a huge need
(cornerback) in getting Tee Shepard and Ronald Darby, and then it
shook out and they didn’t get either of those guys, so that made it a
need again this year.
“They thought they had corner taken care of last year so that’s no
fault to them. It came apart at the end and that happens. Kids
decommit all the time. For whatever reason, Notre Dame wasn’t able to
hold on to Darby and Shepard.
“Looking at Notre Dame’s (cornerback) depth chart, whoever they get,
those guys are going to have a chance to come in and impact the
two-deep right away.
“But the biggest remaining need would be at linebacker. I could see
them taking up to four, with (Fort Wayne’s) Jaylon Smith obviously
being a guy at the top of everybody’s list, and Notre Dame may be at
the top of his list right now.
“Chans Cox (of Lakeside, Ariz.) is another guy that Notre Dame’s in
good shape with at this point. Those are two guys that immediately
come to mind. Alec James (Brookfield, Wis.) is another guy that they
just had on campus that fits that outside linebacker role. I don’t
know if Notre Dame leads for him, but they’re certainly in his top
three.”
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