Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 4-star Roderick Robinson II. He ranks as the nation’s No. 20 RB and the No. 270 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. The On3 Consensus pegs him as the nation’s No. 14 RB and the No. 246 overall prospect.
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Please allow the author to do something here that’s effectively insane from a sportswriting standpoint.
We will preview the big Roderick Robinson II official visit to Georgia this weekend. Yet we will not do a single thing with that game when had stacked up 476 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
That’s because we do not deem it to be the signature game to focus on with Robinson.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder is committed to UCLA but will be making his first trip to check out UGA this weekend for the official. It could be a course-altering decision in his ascending football career.
Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee is an ace recruiter. He was out in California to see Robinson last week at his very best.
The 4-star RB carried the ball 24 times for 217 yards and three scores in a 31-17 victory. He now has 124 carries for 1,501 yards and 21 touchdowns.
That’s in seven games. He’s going off for 12.4 yards per rush attempt.
The angle here is to focus on just 97 of those 1,501 yards to show Robinson could be as a ‘Dawg.
That all went down last Friday night. That’s when his Lincoln High offensive coordinator Jason Carter did something that will tug at the hearts of 1980s and 1990s kids when they read this.
They put Robinson back there in their “Thundercat” offense. That’s a “Wildcat” offense coined from the cartoon exploits of Lion-O, Panthro, Mumm-Ra and all things Thundrillium.
His head coach, David Dunn, calls him a “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot” at running back for Lincoln. Those 97 yards he covered in his last game serve as the proper introduction for that term.
Lincoln went up 14-0 in that game. Cathedral Catholic stormed back for a 17-14 edge. Then they had the Hornets pinned at their own 3-yard line.
Robinson’s team then went into their “Thundercat.” He can even throw the ball decently, but that was not needed. He did everything but pull out the Sword of Omens and call upon sight beyond sight.
“Rock ‘Em” Roderick covered all 97 of those yards. He needed just seven clock-munching carries.
“He just kind of took control of the game,” Dunn said. “He wanted the ball in his hands. He made the right decisions and took some very big hits and got stronger as the game kept going. He really established himself as an elite back.”
“That was huge. Huge for him to take all of that upon himself. They knew he was getting the ball. He did everything right. I figure that really elevated himself to the next level of his game.”
Check out the highlights from that contest below.
The 5 quick-hit things to know here about Roderick Robinson II
The running back position has been a talking point for the ‘Dawgs in the 2023 class. There were celebrated misses on All-Americans Justice Haynes, Rueben Owens and Richard Young for a variety of reasons.
Yet the big thing was with McGee. He’s at a crossroads of sorts. He’s never gone this deep into a recruiting cycle without a running back commit. Much less an All-American type one.
The 2022 season also looked to be professional resume years for Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton.
Take a quick glance at the Georgia backfield. It looks like the program has the “Thunder” or power back covered with a pair of 2022 signees in Andrew Paul and Branson Robinson. Daijun Edwards fits that lighting role and is arguably one of the team’s top backs.
He’ll be back for the 2023 season. Yet it looked like 230-pound Robinson was another great power back in the Paul and Robinson mold. Each of those young men is already at or above the 220-pound mark.
Haynes and Owens were the type of backs with the skill sets to do more of what James Cook did and what McIntosh has done so far for the ‘Dawgs in the evolution of the Todd Monken offense.
Can Robinson do that? How big is he? What is his 40 time? Is he still a good fit for what Monken wants to do?
Those are all good questions. We have them teed up with five things to know about Robinson.
- 1) Is he a good fit for Georgia? Robinson fits what McGee has always looked for. That would be that power RB capable of grinding out fourth-quarter wins in the SEC. Kirby Smart will always value backs like that in his program. Dunn estimates that at least 800 of Robinson’s massive 1,500-yard tally were gained after first contact. That hits the nail on the head with those “Dawg yards” McGee looks for. When a play is designed to get five yards, every back Georgia recruits can get the five yards and fall forward for a six-yard gain. McGee wants to see his backs create those ‘Dawg yards’ and get eight or nine yards on a play that is only blocked up to gain five yards.
- 2) Lincoln High head coach David Dunn was a receiver and a kick returner in the NFL for eight seasons with the Bengals, Browns, Raiders and Steelers. What does he think of Robinson on third downs? “He has really good hands,” Dunn said. “He definitely has some of the strongest hands on the team. But he catches the ball like a full-time receiver. He has some of the best hands on the team. I saw him in the passing league and he’s always telling me to let him run some routes like any good back would do. But he went to the Elite 11 and he caught passes from some of the best quarterbacks out there in the 2023 class. He’s picked up everything catching the ball for us like it is nothing, man. Like it is second nature.”
- Robinson, who will remind this reporter of Joe Mixon at times, shared his take on his hands: “I can catch really well,” he said. “Not only from out of the backfield but I can line up in the slot and out wide as well.”
- Lincoln is a spread team. They will go into four and five wideouts at times. Robinson will be one of those wideouts. Teams are trying to defend him in the box with six defenders even against the spread. Even if it means going Cover Zero against all those Lincoln receivers.
- 3) Can he run? You look at Robinson and his 230 pounds and automatically think power back. Dunn said they have a laser time on Robinson at 4.56 seconds in the 40. That was measured electronically at a scouting combine. “I’m a big back but I’m definitely faster than what most people think,” Roderick Robinson said.
- 4) Will it be tough to move from California? Robinson actually grew up in South Carolina. The Greenville native moved to San Diego to play at the high school home of former ‘Dawg and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis. NFL legend Marcus Allen, another Hall of Famer, also played high school ball at Lincoln.
- Robinson can power up 495 pounds on the squat rack for eight to 10 reps. That will max out to a squat of about 550 pounds. He carries an approximate 3.9 grade-point average in the classroom taking advanced and AP classes.
- Tyrone Wheatley was a speed back but was way faster than anyone expected him to be. Dunn played with him in the NFL. He also played with former Bengals great Corey Dillon. Those are two very big names that he feels Robinson reminds him of, but he leans to Dillon more than Wheatley there.
- 5) Robinson has the moves of an all-around back. Check his highlight reel below. It reflects a lot more than thunder. Robinson breaks off more spins than in old-school Chris Brown and Usher videos. That was the intention. When he was a big back moving in, the Lincoln staff had him behind a shifty runner. He had that California swag and speed to his game. His coaches told Robinson to not lose what he has, but to add those elements to his game. That’s what he has done.
“He’s putting it all together right now,” Lincoln coach David Dunn said. “To where he’ll run through you and square those shoulders up and he will run you over with the power game. Then he also his feet are so quick he will set you up and he will take off on you and you didn’t know he had that gear. He’ll spin and change directions and he is running away from people at 230 pounds and that’s very impressive.”
How does Roderick Robinson feel about Georgia?
“I play football because I just love the game,” Roderick Robinson II said. “I was introduced to it at a very young age. My Dad was a superstar in high school in Alabama. He kind of had me grow up on football. I’ve always loved football and been a part of football.”
His father is his biggest role model. Roderick Robinson Sr. played football at West Alabama and ended up going to the military shortly thereafter. His Dad was an all-state-level athlete who excelled at safety.
“He’s been through so much,” Robinson said. “Not only has he played football and knows everything about it but he’s also a veteran so not only do I look up to him, but a lot of people do. I just feel like he has his head on straight and I want to be in the same position he is in later on in life. The way he raises his kids and encourages all of us to do our best. I feel like that’s what I want to be so I try to take in as much from him as I can.”
Robinson is described as having great character. There are numerous examples to support that intel.
“What keeps me going in football is I am not only playing for myself,” he said. “I am playing for my family. I am playing for my teammates that line up on the ball with me and just the fun of the game and everything that comes with it.”
He played outfield for his high school baseball team this spring. He did so while helping to coach the girls’ soccer team and the girls’ Powder Puff football team.
“His character just shows that he has a spark about him,” Dunn said. “Everything is ‘yes sir and no sir’ and ‘yes ma’am and no ma’am’ and it doesn’t matter if you are the head coach or the security guard or the custodian. Just very genuine. Same thing with the teachers. Kids will label teachers. This teacher is hard. This teacher is hard to get along with. They end up being Roderick’s favorite teacher.”
Robinson could have graduated in the spring. He’s already taking college credit classes this fall. He will be able to enroll early at UCLA or UGA or some other lucky program in January.
The dream is for him to reach the NFL. He aspires to study kinesiology in college.
Why did he commit to UCLA?
“At the time when I was up there I felt like it was the place where I wanted to be,” he said. “I loved the coaching staff up there. It makes me feel like it is home. The fact that my position coach [DeShaun Foster] went to the NFL for my position was a big thing for me. Then with the education, it is a top school in the country. I feel like it was a great school for me.”
He’s never been to Athens before. That’s why this official visit is big. Georgia continued to recruit him hard even after he chose the Bruins.
What comes to his mind when he thinks of Georgia?
“Of course national champions and great running backs,” Robinson said.
He says that seeing California guys like Brock Bowers, JT Daniels, Earnest Greene III and Milton come to Georgia and find success means something to him.
“It definitely makes you think I can do it, too,” Robinson said. “It is not easy being far from home but for me, I still have family all in South Carolina still. So it definitely wouldn’t be that bad being that far away from home for me. Definitely seeing those guys go out and do it and overachieve while definitely being far from home does give me a little motivation that I could do it, too.”
“National champions and great running backs.”
How does he feel about McGee?
“Well, he definitely likes the fact that I am a lot more versatile than what people think when they first look at me,” Robinson said. “Our relationship is great. He’s real big on competition and iron sharpens iron. The SEC is great and that’s the best place to do it. He just tells me all the time that there’s no better place than Georgia to face the best competition against the best athletes in the country at Georgia every day and get ready for the NFL.”
Foster is a key here for the Bruins. That relationship there is key to that pledge to UCLA at this time.
Do the ‘Dawgs have a real chance with Roderick Robinson?
In short, yes.
It is no coincidence that he committed to UCLA this summer and is doing his due diligence with official visits to Texas A&M and Georgia in back-to-back weeks.
Is it an anomaly that McGee goes out to visit one Friday and he’s taking his official visit to UGA on the following Saturday? We don’t think so here.
The ‘Dawgs would normally see their chances boosted here in a head-to-head with a fading Pac-12 team but the Bruins are actually in a resurgence this season. They are 5-0 and ranked No. 18 in the country.
Georgia made his final six back over the summer and he never even visited the school.
Dunn shared his thoughts with DawgNation about where Robinson is at right now with his college decision.
“I think Georgia has a real shot,” Dunn said. “We talked before. We were waiting this summer to see if Georgia was going to come in with an offer and they did. I know he made a commitment early but he still has got to weigh out his options.”
UCLA will be moving to a new conference next year. That means he has to look at everything.
“He has to look at the best option for himself right now,” Dunn said. “He’s told me. We don’t know what he is going to do. He’s keeping the decision totally to himself. He wants to explore and see what else is out there before he makes his final decision.”
Dunn knows full well how gifted and smart Robinson is. He said he knows he will make the right decision.
Robinson knows about Georgia’s program prestige. He knows the reputation of Georgia’s running backs. He also knows how well Terrell Davis did going to and coming out of Georgia.
“He got that Georgia call and he was really excited about that Georgia call,” Dunn said. “He really wanted to make sure he had a visit out there. I think Georgia has a really good chance of landing the young man. He should have a good visit this weekend and see the facilities and meet the coaches. He has a really great family. His mother and father are very supportive. I think it is all on Georgia at this point.”
SENTELL'S INTEL
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