Robinson - is signing him a big coup?

[Homer J Simpson IV]

Yes, Damien Robinson was an Army All-American. Yes, he is a 4-star offensive tackle and near the top of every Mississippi want list. Yes, his profile shows a boatload of offers.

So, Whisky Tango Foxtrot is going on?

By every account I've read, he's been dropped by Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and, if you believe the OM sources, Ole Miss. I've been hearing for awhile that a lot of schools are not sold on his upside and see a lack of athletic ability offset by size against high school competition.

It appears this national prospect that appeared to be on track to receive offers from virtually every school in the country is now at a crossroads on which school to choose - MSU or Memphis.

Seriously, WTF has happened with his recruitment? Did other teams just fill up quickly and deny him a spot? Or is he just not as good as his ranking merits?

 

[Homer J Simpson IV]

Yes, Damien Robinson was an Army All-American. Yes, he is a 4-star offensive tackle and near the top of every Mississippi want list. Yes, his profile shows a boatload of offers.

So, Whisky Tango Foxtrot is going on?

By every account I've read, he's been dropped by Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and, if you believe the OM sources, Ole Miss. I've been hearing for awhile that a lot of schools are not sold on his upside and see a lack of athletic ability offset by size against high school competition.

It appears this national prospect that appeared to be on track to receive offers from virtually every school in the country is now at a crossroads on which school to choose - MSU or Memphis.

Seriously, WTF has happened with his recruitment? Did other teams just fill up quickly and deny him a spot? Or is he just not as good as his ranking merits?

 

[Columbus Dawg]

dropped him. UT wanted him to visit as recently as a couple of weeks ago, but the weather was bad. Surely you're not naive enough to buy that Ole Miss BS?

Having said that, his own coach said he thinks he will be a good RT or OG in college. So if anyone is expecting him to replace Sherrod at LT, they will more than likely be disappointed.

 

[TR.sixpack]

Seriously, are you asking State fans to justify one of our biggest recruits? Seriously? Should you be on the LSU board?

 

[Married to a Dog]

I think Samsel's meddling in the recruiting process of his players has cost Robinson. He didn't even get to go on 5 visits. Samsel likes to control the process, and in so doing, I think he screwed this young man. (I am not saying that if he signed with MSU he was screwed. I am saying that if this AA 4 star recruit didn't have a bevy of offers, his coach screwed him.)

 

[Columbus Dawg]

and had an offer from them, but he waited too long. Steve Robertsonhas said for months that his mother wants him to stay close to home. He has never been interested in Ole Miss so MSU and Memphis are logical choices. Bama is the only program that hasn't really been interested in him.

Scout has him as the #2 prospect in the state. Even Yancy has had him 1-4 all year knowing that he wasn't going to OM so he must be a good prospect. He's 6'8, 300 pounds. That's a pretty good canvas to work with. You just never know with O-linemen.

It looks like MSU is going to sign 7 of the top 14 players in the state and Ole Miss is going to sign 5. 12 out of 14 staying in state. That's pretty rare.

 

[msumhsfan]

I have seen a couple of places that he cant be a tackle, but signing one of the best interior lineman is good either way. And maybe some other schools dropped off but I know ole miss didnt. they wanted him and are now backpedaling cause they think it wont make them look bad. Isnt this the recruit that they say was begging them for a LOI? or am i thinking of someone else?

 

[patdog]

(just kidding, I'm not really doubting that you didn't offer him/took his offer back). Actually, the one time I saw him play, he sucked. Granted, that was against South Panola, but he didn't just look mediocre, he looked 17ing terrible. I'd still take him, considering our OL recruiting last year and so far this year, but I view him more as a project with potential than a top recruit.</p>

 

[msumhsfan]

I will take a project thats rated as a 4 star. Screw you ole miss

 

[War Machine Dawg]

His lack of coaching was very apparent the times they played us. He's gotten by on mostly size and raw talent at OB. But you can't coach his size. I think in 2-3 years of work with Hevesy and Balis this guy might turn into something really good. But rest assured, it'll take 2-3 years. He shouldn't be expected to contribute before his RS Sophomore season.

 

[Married to a Dog]

And, I was definitely not wanting to turn this into an OM v. MSU recruiting class battle. I AM saying that #2 prospect in our state should have multiple to unlimited offers on signing day. He may have visited Oklahoma, but he did not visit other close to home BCS programs (and I am not talking about just Ole Miss.) That is unheard of, and I am offering that maybe we should blame Samsel.

 

[gravedigger]

IF you are recruiting someone that will take entirely too much effort to sway, you move on to other kids.

I think this kid may have let off a vibe that he wasnt interested. Smart teams just stopped wasting the effort if he wasnt
someone that they could sway.

Others that are closer by and were visiting the school anyway took the opportunity to keep working at it.

In the end, if the kid sends out the vibe he doesnt fit with your university it really doesnt matter how good he is. You'll quit trying to sell him.

 

[Columbus Dawg]

just saying he could have gone to OU if he would have committed on the visit.

Mama wants him close to home and Bama wasn't interested. He hasn't signed anywhere yet.

 

[Married to a Dog]

Each situation is different, and each prospect is unique. My position is that a HS coach's primary role in this process is "qualify the sale" in such a way that every and any school thinks they have a chance. If Samsel were coaching my son, I would expect him to be lobbying for any and all offers possible. If I wanted my child to stay close to home, I would not want his coach to begin culling offers until I was SURE I had the close to home offers I wanted.

My proposed "desires" may be exactly what happened. However, the kid was not sure where he wanted to sign as recent as Tuesday. Regardless, he was left with limited options. That is either the recruit and his family's fault OR the coach's fault. Given that I do buy into the spin that Samsel involves himself a little too much into the recruitment of his players, I believe that he hurt this kid's chances. He has limited BCS offers on signing day eve, and he has not committed to a local program. That is not the norm for a player of his caliber.

 

[Todd4State]

you certainly can't coach 6'8 300. That's a good frame to work with. Is he an immediate contributor? No. Do I think he could be a SEC player? Absolutely. Just based on his size, I would say that we would be crazy to not go after and be happy if we got him.

I have seen him play as well- against Madison Central. I thought he looked OK. He didn't blow me away, but he didn't totally suck either.

I think he is typical of the types of players that MSU should go after- guys that have a lot of upside, but maybe aren't polished enough to go to an Alabama or somewhere like that. We're not going to get very many Chad Bumphis's, so we have to be able to identify guys with talent, speed and size, and then condition and strengthen them, and then coach them up into good football players.

And he did have a lot of interest from some big time programs at the very least.

 

[jodydavis]

Is very coachable by a good coach

 

[BigLeagueChew]

Samsel has in-part screwed this kid by his control freak personality.

That or Robinson is Aubrey Phillips/Calvin Wilson 2.0

 

[dawgoneyall]

ole miss dropped him?

 

[fwsultan]

wherever he goes , he will need 2 or 3 years of work before he will be ready to take on a sec caliber defensive lineman. Is Templeton Hardy still on the MSU football team?

 

[TR.sixpack]

It seems like last year we needed players to come in and play early, but I don't get that impression this season.

 

[dickiedawg]

Size... Is very coachable by a good coach

Poster is not saying his size makes him uncoachable. He's saying you can't coach someone to be 6'8" and 300lbs.

 

[Xenomorph]

In July '09 he was one of the top high school senior offensive linemen in the nation. Recruited by everyone and rebel fans were ready to jump off a bridge because Samsel wouldn't let them in the door. Then.... six months later he's a bum who needs 3 years to get ready to step on the field.

I don't know who's in the right... folks that rated him high or people who now claim he can barely play, but I know I've never seen anything like it.

 

[Gene Swindoll]

he was rated so high because of his size.....he's probably like that bit guy we signed from callaway a few years back that sucked andthat ended up transfering to southern miss and played a little down there...cant think of his name, but he was the same size as robinson and was a 4 or 5 star guy.

 

[Xenomorph]

There are plenty of other 6'7" 300 pound linemen that NEVER get rated as highly as he did. Hell, we just signed one that plays beside him.

No. Somewhere along the line to get rated one of the 5 best in the country you have to do more than stand on a scale.

 

[olemissbydamn]

You, I, and others have been consistent at least.<div>
</div><div>http://sixpackspeak.yuku.com/sreply/237716</div>

 

[Gene Swindoll]

There are plenty of other 6'7" 300 pound linemen that NEVER get rated as highly as he did. Hell, we just signed one that plays beside him.

No. Somewhere along the line to get rated one of the 5 best in the country you have to do more than stand on a scale.

just like that guy croom signed a few years back that was top 5 in the country...was 6'7 320....and sucked..........by the way, could you tell templeton hardy i said what's up

 

[Gene Swindoll]

donovan davis was his name

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Maybe he had a good junior year and opened some eyes. Then the schools all started reviewing the film on him and discovered that he wasn't the player they thought he was. Just an idea.

 

[Xenomorph]

Dude.. nobody EVER rated Templeton Hardy as one of the top five offensive linemen in the nation. Never. At any time.

Btw.. you'd love to throw out the name Donovan Davis if you could remember it. But he wasn't rated that high either. Very, very good maybe. A gem for us, no doubt. But never a 5*, can't miss stud. Robinson was that just 6 months ago.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

You are confusing Davis and Calvin Wilson.

 

[olemissbydamn]

Dude.. nobody EVER rated Templeton Hardy as one of the top five offensive linemen in the nation. Never. At any time.

Btw.. you'd love to throw out the name Donovan Davis if you could remember it. But he wasn't rated that high either. Very, very good maybe. A gem for us, no doubt. But never a 5*, can't miss stud. Robinson was that just 6 months ago.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Donovan-Davis-8579 <div>
</div><div>Donovan Davis was pretty highly rated.</div><div>
</div><div>Temp Hardy was highly rated as a DL.</div><div>
</div><div>I called ******** on Hardy all along. I called ******** on Aubrey Phillips. And I call ******** on Robinson.</div><div>
</div><div>So far, so good on Hardy & Phillips. We'll see on Robinson.</div>

 

[Gene Swindoll]

Dude.. nobody EVER rated Templeton Hardy as one of the top five offensive linemen in the nation. Never. At any time.

Btw.. you'd love to throw out the name Donovan Davis if you could remember it. But he wasn't rated that high either. Very, very good maybe. A gem for us, no doubt. But never a 5*, can't miss stud. Robinson was that just 6 months ago.

http://mississippistate.scout.com/a.z?s=136&p=8&c=1&nid=222685

checkit out for yourself

 

[Irondawg]

the story from Bama supposedly was that he had an offer but then they got several other highly rated tackles to commit. He still had an offer going into their camp but his performance was average and not dominant so they went ahead and dropped him.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

You can step in and have an immediate impact as a freshman at RB, DB, LB,and WR. But QB, DL, and OL is different. It takes time for those guys to develop. Especially OL. Most get by on size and raw ability in HS. They need 2-3 years to gain strength and learn technique. If you notice, the best schools typically don't play an OL younger than a RS Soph and don't start an OL younger than a RS JR. The ones that play and contribute before that are the absolute freaks. It's no knock to say it'll take a HS OL 2-3 years to develop to the point of being able to play. It's just fact.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

In July '09 he was one of the top high school senior offensive linemen in the nation. Recruited by everyone and rebel fans were ready to jump off a bridge because Samsel wouldn't let them in the door. Then.... six months later he's a bum who needs 3 years to get ready to step on the field.

I don't know who's in the right... folks that rated him high or people who now claim he can barely play, but I know I've never seen anything like it.

We're saying he's like the vast majority of HS OL. Like I said in my post above, 98% of these guys need time in the weight room and time to learn technique. It's only the absolute freaks that come in and make an immediate impact on the OL. And if you had ever seen Robinson play, you'd understand. Having Samsel as a coach has hurt him tremendously. I shudder to think how good OB's OL could have been had someone like Michael Fair been coaching them. They'd have absolutely mauled people on the way to an undefeated season and the Championship. I'm just glad Samsel is in charge up there.

 

[HireCohen]

again, go back to the spirit you tool..that's right, i forgot you aren't wanted there either. keep wearing that 2003 SEC West championship shirt, it still isn't getting you to Atlanta.