Kentucky was the "right time and right place" for Wan'Dale Robinson

Wan’Dale Robinson’s football path has had a few twists and turns. A local superstar out of Frankfort, the 5-foot-11 wide receiver initially committed to Kentucky before backing out of his pledge and signing with Nebraska. Initially a hometown hero, the four-star recruit quickly became a villain, leaving the state to become a Cornhusker.

Robinson produced, as expected. He racked up a combined 914 receiving yards, 580 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns in two years at Nebraska, putting his versatility on full display. It came at a time Kentucky’s offensive production struggled to get off the runway, a run-focused attack with little creativity.

No regrets on signing with Nebraska out of high school

At the time, it was the right move for Robinson, one the dynamic playmaker’s family doesn’t regret.

“There’s no remorse,” Wan’Dale’s father, Dale Robinson, said on Sunday AM Sports Talk this past week. “I think everything does happen for a reason. He went there at a time Nebraska was the best fit for him. Kentucky at the time, we didn’t feel like it was the best fit.”

In Lincoln, Robinson was able to grow up away from home. He had two years to figure out who he was as a person and what he wanted in life.

“It was the right choice at the right time,” Dale Robinson said. “Everything happens for a reason in life. He went there, got away, and learned how to be a man. He wasn’t close to home where if something went wrong, he could just run back home. Up in Nebraska, ten hours away, you’ve got to figure it out for yourself.”

Returning home

So Robinson did figure it out for himself. After two seasons at Nebraska where he was forced to split time at wide receiver and running back, the Franklin County native felt it was necessary to make a business decision. With Kentucky looking to jumpstart the offense with new play-caller Liam Coen, Robinson saw a clear and immediate fit. He had NFL dreams and felt coming home to play in a pro-style offense would help turn those dreams into reality.

With the standout father’s guidance, along with an assist from Vince Marrow, Robinson came back to where it all started.

“We always kept a great relationship with Vince (Marrow), even after Wan’Dale chose to go to Nebraska over Kentucky,” Robinson said. “We always had a personal relationship, and it wasn’t just football. … It was the right fit at the right time to come back to Kentucky. I told him when he was at Nebraska at one point, ‘Listen, there are multiple ways to reach your destination.’ I explained it to him like on the GPS when you put in a destination, it gives you multiple routes. Nebraska wasn’t the route that we needed to go, we needed to change it and take a different route. That destination was the NFL, and Kentucky, at the right time and at the right place, they happened to be that spot.”

“Shout out to Liam Coen”

Turns out returning home to play for Mark Stoops and Liam Coen was the right move, after all. Robinson finished the year with 1,334 receiving yards on 104 catches, both school records, to go with seven touchdowns. He earned Second-Team All-American honors by PFF, First-Team All-SEC honors by Phil Steele and PFF and Second-Team All-SEC honors by the AP and Coaches.

The pro-style offense under Coen paved the path for Robinson to emerge as a top draft prospect, coming off the board with the No. 43 pick in the second round to the New York Giants.

“I am not going to lie, shout out to Liam Coen,” Robinson said. “We are truly blessed to have him, we are truly blessed for the University of Kentucky to even allow us to come back. Liam Coen’s offense, it was everything for him to get to the point where he is at right now. That offense totally suited him, and he came in and thrived. … It was just a great situation, right time and right place.”

The journey was a bit unconventional, but the destination was clear from the beginning. Robinson saw his son thrive in the sport from the time he was five years old, as soon as a football touched his hands for the first time.

“Ever since he put the football in his hands, I kind of knew, you know?” Robinson said. “I felt like he could be the kid that makes it, just from watching him and how he approached football at an early age. Some kids grew up, they want to watch cartoons and stuff like that. He didn’t go to sleep watching cartoons, he went to sleep watching NFL Network. He started at five years old.”

16 years later, Kentucky’s own Wan’Dale Robinson is in the NFL.