120 Players You Need To
Know
SMU WR Aldrick Robinson
By
Richard Cirminiello
Who is Aldrick Robinson?
… Coming out of Waxahachie (Tex.) High School, Robinson elected to
play for SMU, rejecting a chance to play in the Big 12. An
improbable choice? How about a prescient one? Sure, Robinson
couldn’t have known that June Jones would be the Mustang head coach
two years after he signed with Phil Bennett’s staff, but it sure has
benefited both sides. After getting his feet wet as a true freshman,
he erupted into one of Conference USA’s budding superstars, catching
59 passes for 1,047 yards and 11 touchdowns. And that was with a
rookie battery mate, Bo Levi Mitchell, who often missed him in the
open field. Jones is convinced he inherited a raw gem of an athlete,
who’ll take his game to the NFL following the 2010 season. The coach
gushes about his junior’s speed, quick first step, and almost
limitless upside potential. When Robinson does make it to the next
level, he’ll owe Jones a debt of gratitude for making it there.
Strike that. The two will be even if Robinson can help end a
quarter-century bowl drought before departing.
Robinson’s
best game so far was … last Oct. 4 year at UCF. The Knights
arguably had the most experienced and talented secondary in
Conference USA a year ago. Of course, you’d have a hard time
convincing Robinson, who toyed with CB Joe Burnett and Co. for 210
yards and a touchdown on a career-high 10 receptions.
Why you should care about
Robinson? … Mustang head coach June Jones describes Robinson as
one of the fastest players he’s ever coached and a future first-day
NFL Draft choice. Yup, that’s the same Jones that had Andre Rison
and Terrance Mathis in Atlanta, and Davone Bess and Ryan
Grice-Mullen at Hawaii. His best football is clearly ahead of him,
especially in a system that pretty much guarantees monster numbers
over the next two seasons in Dallas.
Positives about Robinson
… He has the track speed of a legitimate home run hitter, and his
burst in the first 10 yards is off-the-charts explosive. A naturally
fluid athlete with a good bounce in his step, he averaged almost 20
yards a reception last season. He doesn’t need to be running a fly
pattern to deliver a big play, often taking short hitches and
gobbling up substantial yards after the catch.
Negatives about Robinson
… More than anything else, Robinson needs to improve his
concentration, while working on playing at the highest level on
every down. He’s prone to lapses at times and can still sharpen his
route-running and overall ball skills. At only 5-10 and 175 pounds,
he won’t out muscle many defenders for the ball.
A cool thing about Robinson
you probably didn’t know … Around family, Aldrick is nicknamed
Alcow for an incident at his uncle’s farm involving a hard-charging
bovine that forced a young Robinson to use every ounce of his
blazing speed to get away.
Career Statistics
2007: 10 receptions for 166 yards
2008: 59 receptions for 1,047
yards and 11 touchdowns
Statistics, information and photo provided by the
SMU sports information department