Soon we enter the month of June officially known as “Camp Season” to recruitniks. Shawn Watson is Nebraska’s camp guru and many prospective Cornhuskers will be judged on their abilities up close and personal by multiple staff members. Nebraska sits with five official commitments the most recent being Dontrayevous Robinson.
A running back from Euless Texas’ powerhouse Trinity High School, Robinson stands 6’ 1” and weighs in at 215 pounds. Robinson has many solid qualities such as size, strength and speed, but what makes watching him play the most fun is his vision. Just when you would expect him to be tackled or perhaps even trip he seems to shift through a tackle as if a video game glitch. Once started, his feet never stop moving which only add to the fluidity of his movement side to side and north to south.
He reminds me of Nebraska’s current bruiser Quentin Castille. The difference between the two as it stands right now is I have seen Dontrayevous take more dives over lineman piles with a few even half standing up than I have in Castille’s short career. Obviously this becomes somewhat difficult when you have Marlon Lucky ahead of you, but I digress. Robinson jukes when you think he’s going to “jive”, left when right and yes even up when down.
Receiving skills are already impressive with no waiting period between a soft catch before turning up field. He is not shy about shoving facemasks away from him nor is he afraid to take a hit. The only thing that honestly concerns me about Robinson is the movement of his feet as I feel he could get tripped up by some of the Big XII’s upperclassmen. That being said, my doubt may be improperly bred as, after all, you can’t catch what isn’t there.
Running backs Coach Tim Beck and Carl Pelini are to be thanked for this commitment and I believe we will see more of Beck’s handiwork in the weeks to come.
Many had become worried about the type of athlete committing to Nebraska early this cycle myself included, but with the addition of Robinson, I think that things are starting to look up for the Cornhuskers at least momentarily. What the Big Red needs is a shining star. Think Blaine Gabbert only not in a Missouri uniform. It feels like people are waiting around the country for a revival in Lincoln and a big commitment would start attracting like-minded and talented athletes along with him.
Some of the prospects of note currently eyeballing Nebraska:
- Quarterback Cody Green – 6’ 4” 220 pounds (Dayton, TX)
- Tight End Jordan Najvar – 6’ 6” 215 pounds (Klein, TX)
- Linebacker Chris Williams – 6’ 0” 230 pounds (Abilene, TX)
- Athlete Rex Burkhead – 5’ 11” 191 pounds (Plano, TX)
If I had to pick an immediate commitment out of the four, I’d go with Green. He is ideal for Shawn Watson’s offense and would attract attention from other big recruits across the country. If he can be locked up by Nebraska and the Cornhuskers have at least a respectable record, the 2008 recruiting cycle may be a class above expectation or quite possibly belief.