For Penn State coach James Franklin, it’s hard to tell at this point in spring camp where the linebacking corps is at.
“We’re just starting to get some live work,” Franklin told reporters after Tuesday’s spring practice. “Where you really have a chance to evaulate linebackers. It’s hard to do it unless you’re flying around.”
Well, it seems first-year defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tom Allen has noticed at least one young player “flying around.”
His name is Ta’Mere Robinson.
“He’s one that’s flashed… he’s stuck out,” Allen said Wednesday. “He’s making plays, especially when he runs the ally, and I think his confidence is growing each day in our system and learning the things that we’re doing that are different.”
So what specifically is Robinson doing to impress Allen?
“To me, its his ability to track the ball,” Allen said, “strike and finish. He has long leverage, and he can run, and that’s a great quality.”
Robinson hasn’t gotten many chances to show what he can do at Penn State.
The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder from Pittsburgh’s Brashear High School redshirted his true freshman season, appearing in two games and not picking up any stats.
But the potential has been there for a while.
Before suffering a devastating knee injury in the autumn of his junior year, Robinson was one of the nation’s top defensive prospects. Schools still wanted Robinson after the injury, but some— such as Michigan— backed off. Penn State kept pursuing Robinson, and although he hasn’t had a chance to blossom on Saturdays yet, he’s been a welcome presence in the locker room.
“He’s a great dude,” now-former Penn State LB Curtis Jacobs said last September. “That’s just a guy I wouldn’t mind always being around. I love having a guy like that under my wing because he’s just a sponge. He’s ready to learn, handles all his business off the field and on the field. So, I’m definitely excited for what he has coming. I think he’s going to have a big couple of years coming up.”
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