Among the fleet of celebrity sons playing on Notre Dame’s football team, sophomore Corey Robinson looks poised to make his own name in 2014. The son of Hall of Fame basketball center David Robinson, Corey hasn’t grown into a seven-footer like his father did, but the lanky receiver is a potential mismatch for defenses after being plucked from obscurity on the recruiting trail by the Irish coaching staff.
After a freshman season that saw flashes of very good things, Robinson’s sophomore season looked prime for a breakout, even before the future of No. 1 receiver DaVaris Daniels was thrown into doubt. But paired with fellow sophomore Will Fuller, Robinson could become part of a dynamic duo for the next three seasons, using his length, athleticism and velcro-hands to give the Irish a red zone weapon and a world-class chain mover.
Let’s take a closer look at the San Antonio native.
COREY ROBINSON
6'4.5" 215 lbs.
Sophomore, No. 88
RECRUITING PROFILE
Notre Dame was the first to offer Robinson, a true developmental decision after Kerry Cooks got eyes on the raw football player who played in the small-school, private San Antonio Christian High. The Irish offer put Robinson on the map, and by the time his recruiting cycle was over, Robinson ascended to a four-star recruit with offers from Iowa, Kansas and North Carolina.
Kelly talked about the the player he thought Robinson could become, after getting him onto campus early as a spring semester enrollee at Notre Dame.
“I think what really impressed us about Corey is that he’s just beginning to blossom,” Kelly said. “He’s just started to take hold in this game of football. As you know, the Robinson name, pretty familiar. His dad obviously is a great parent and mentor, but he also probably had a little basketball for his sons growing up, and I think that transition out of basketball and focusing on football has given him now this opportunity to continue to grow as a football player. So we think we’ve got a guy early on that has not even come close to tapping his potential.”
PLAYING CAREER
Freshman Season (2013): Played in all 13 games for the Irish, starting three at wide receiver. Caught nine passes for 157 yards and one touchdown on the season. His three catches for 54 yards against Michigan State were a season high in yardage. Caught a 35-yard touchdown against Air Force.
UPSIDE POTENTIAL
Robinson’s recruitment started as a head-scratcher, with some expecting the Irish coaching staff to turn him into a tight end. But Robinson national profile to improve as people found out about him as a senior committed to Notre Dame, and after a solid week in San Antonio at the U.S. Army All-American game, Robinson looked like an intriguing but raw prospect who was coming into a relatively thin wide receiving depth chart.
After early-enrolling, Robinson wowed fans with his prodigious work on the UND.com practice updates, making circus catches that highlighted incredible hands and height that presented big-time headaches for veteran corner Bennett Jackson... and anybody else that matched up with him.
Robinson is far from a complete player. He’s still got to master route-running and find some explosiveness that’ll help him beat jam-coverage at the line of scrimmage and battle the fact that his long-stride, top-end speed isn’t elite. But considering he made three big catches against Michigan State, a team that decided to play the Irish in all-man coverage, Robinson looks like he’s got the world ahead of him as a receiver, and has received nothing but praise from the Irish coaching staff for going about his business the right way.
CRYSTAL BALL
If there’s a prototype for the perfect football player for Notre Dame, Robinson seems pretty close. He’s a top-flight student, a PLS major (Program of Liberal Studies), one of the most demanding and intellectually stimulating majors the university has to offer. That matches up with the Renaissance Man reputation that’s already been hoisted on Robinson, a talented musician who seems to have a knack for just about everything. On the field, he’s got unique physical traits and comes from a family where it’s clear that the gene pool is pretty good, too.
I already expected a huge spike in Robinson’s production, a combination of the sophomore improving, the offense expanding, and a variety of weapons giving Robinson some juicy 1-on-1 matchups. And if DaVaris Daniels is suspended for a lengthy period, Robinson will be hoisted into the starting lineup, forced to play a bigger role on the outside with Chris Brown and Fuller.
The sky seems to be the limit for Robinson. There are still questions that need to be answered, mostly with how he beats tight, physical coverage. But if the Irish can utilize him properly, then Robinson should be a very, very productive player this season.
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