North Carolina State University Athletics
Robinson Has Become A Marked Man
11/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
After watching big-play receiver Koren Robinson blister NC State's first five opponents, the defensive coordinators at North Carolina and Florida State had seen enough. And over the last two games, the Tar Heels and Seminoles managed to do what the Pack's first five opponents couldn't do: hold Robinson below 100 yards receiving.Word travels fast around the ACC, and the word these days is that NC State's wily offense is much less effective when Koren Robinson is held in check. UNC and FSU's strategy of rolling their coverages to Robinson's side of the field paid dividends as the redshirt sophomore from Belmont was limited to just five catches for 64 yards in those two games.
"It's been a combination of a lot of things," said NC State quarterback Philip Rivers. "They've covered him pretty good and have done some things to take him away. Sometimes I haven't found him at certain times. It relates to a lot of things. It's not just them taking him away."
After making 31 catches in the Pack's first five games, Robinson has been held to just five receptions the last two weeks. Now the onus shifts back to Wolfpack offensive coordinator Norm Chow and his band of creative offensive coaches to counter those schemes with some new strategies designed to shake Robinson free.
The Maryland team that the Pack will meet this Saturday in College Park is certainly aware of K-Rob's prowess.
"Koren Robinson is a big-time receiver," said Terps' coach Ron Vanderlinden. "He has tremendous potential as we all know."
Of course, anytime a defense puts extra emphasis on stopping one particular player, it runs the risk of being exposed to someone else. For that reason, other Wolfpack receivers like Eric Leak, Bryan Peterson and tight end Willie Wright can expect to see more single coverage opportunities in upcoming games.
Robinson and the rest of the NC State offense can take solace in the fact that they won't see another defense as good as Florida State's for the rest of the year. This week, the Pack will try to move the ball against a Maryland defense that has the ACC's seventh ranked pass defense. Terrapins' opponents have averaged 276 passing yards in eight games this season.
"They're going to play a lot of zone defense, somewhat similar to what Indiana did," Rivers said. "I wouldn't say [the Maryland secondary] is a weak link, but with a zone defense there are certainly a lot of holes to attack. It will be our job to attack the open spots. We need to be able to run it and throw it and be smart. I'll have to make the right decisions and pick out the right guy against that zone."
For NC State, Koren Robinson is always the right guy. The only problem is that everyone else knows that too.
