North Carolina State University Athletics
K-Rob Is Rolling
9/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Along with being an outstanding wide receiver, NC State's Koren Robinson is also a movie star. A movie star, you ask? Why yes. Just ask opposing coaches and defensive coordinators who watch the Wolfpack on film. Most of them will ask questions like, "Wow! Who's that number 3," or "man that guy looks good on game tapes."
Carrying a chiseled 6'2, 203 pound frame, Robinson is an NFL computer print out of what a modern day wide receiver is supposed to look like. But don't let his size fool you; the redshirt sophomore from Belmont, N.C. has recorded a time of 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Robinson has what scouts like call "the entire package."
"I don't believe anybody can cover me one on one," he says.
SMU's cornerbacks won't argue with that statement. The young Mustangs paid the price for challenging Robinson early in last Saturday night's game at Carter-Finley Stadium. On the first play from scrimmage, Robinson scooted past his man and hauled in a 46-yard pass from quarterback Philip Rivers. On the very next play, Rivers checked off at the line of scrimmage when he noticed that SMU was in bump in run coverage again. The result was a 22-yard touchdown pass to Robinson on a fade route.
A running back in high school, Robinson made the switch to receiver soon after arriving at NC State in 1998.
"They moved me after freshmen reported," Robinson said. "We were doing some receiving drills and I kept beating the defensive backs deep. Coach O'Cain came and asked me if I'd like to switch, and I said it doesn't matter. So I switched to receiver."
After taking a redshirt year, Robinson opened the 1999 campaign as the third receiver in NC State's rotation, but when starters Ryan Hamrick and Chris Coleman went down with injuries, he became quarterback Jamie Barnette's top target. Over his last six games, Robinson made 42 catches and joined Torry Holt as the only receivers in NC State history to gain over 100 yard receiving in four straight games. The late surge resulted in him being named ACC Rookie of the Year.
Then came an off-season coaching change. The new sheriff in town was Chuck Amato, whose emphasis on conditioning and discipline took some getting used to for Robinson and everybody else. At first, Amato pushed while Robinson resisted. Now it appears that the coach and the pupil are on the same page.
"I don't know if I've changed him, but he's much, much better," Amato said. "He may not have bought into me yet 100 percent, but now he's only a mosquito bite on my left arm. He's doing more of the things that we ask him to do that initially he didn't want to do. There's an example of a young man who had a lot of success last year. That can make them think like, 'hey man, here I am.' When you have a lack of quality depth it's easy for that to happen. But if we had two or three Koren Robinsons behind him, he'd do everything we ask him to do."
Opposing defensive coordinators might argue that one Koren Robinson is enough. Through three games this season, Robinson is ranked third in the country in receiving yards (125.3 ypg.). His nine career 100 yard receiving games are the second most in school history. And with two seasons of eligibility remaining after this one, he has an excellent chance of breaking Holt's mark of 14.
With its average of 376.3 yards per game, NC State currently leads the nation in passing offense. So far, the combination of coordinator Norm Chow's genius, Rivers' touch and Robinson's big play abilities have fueled one of college football's most explosive attacks.
"[Chow] always comes to me and says that I can be the best receiver he's ever coached," Robinson said. "He says, 'When I see all these preseason magazines that list the best receivers and Koren Robinson's name isn't mentioned, it makes me mad. We're going to let the nation know who Koren Robinson really is.'"
Koren Robinson's anonymity probably won't last much longer. After all, just about everyone can recognize a movie star.
