The Dawgs are yet again rolling in recruiting, with the commitment yesterday of Greater Atlanta Christian School linebacker/tight end Christian Robinson. Georgia offered Robinson a while back, before he received offers from the likes of LSU, Alabama and Clemson. But in the end he confessed that "it seemed liked Georgia was right for me."
Robinson doesn't have the size to play tight end at the next level, but at 6'2 and a lean 204 pounds, he should fill out to become an outside linebacker. At the Athens Nike Camp in April, Robinson was very good in pass coverage, which is always at a premium among college 'backers. The game highlights from his junior year posted by Rivals are perhaps more impressive. Robinson reminds me a little of John Knox because he seems to always make quality contact with the ball carrier, though he doesn't seem to play as fast as Knox.
Young Christian also reads plays very well, getting behind lead blockers and sniffing out misdirection quickly. I particularly like how Robinson plays behind his pads, which allows him to get through traffic and to the ball carrier quickly without getting knocked off line. And he wraps up, a trait which I came to prize among our linebackers after the 2006 Sugar Bowl (or as we call it around my house, "the bowl game that dare not speak its name).
I never would have thought 6 months ago that we would be in need of outside linebackers. But with Brandon Miller's shift to the middle and Akeem Hebron's transfer down to beautiful Milledgeville, we're looking to be thinner there this year and next. Christian Robinson won't help in 2007, but I think he has the potential to develop into a solid weakside backer in a couple of years. He also fits into our apparent transition away from the Brandon Miller lumbering brontosaurus model to smaller, faster, sideline-to-sideline linebackers. He's not a five star player, but a guy with a lot of potential at a position we needed to fill. All in all, a solid pickup. Until tomorrow,
Go Dawgs!!!