Notre Dame's leading receiver in Saturday's victory over Michigan State was true freshman Corey Robinson, who appears ready to give the Irish another receiving weapon.
Robinson (6-feet-4, 205 pounds), the son of NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson, is part of what should become one of the nation's top receiving quartets. The Irish's best receivers are sophomore DaVaris Daniels and senior TJ Jones. Sophomore Chris Brown, who started four times as a true freshman last season, has become a reliable weapon, too.
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Robinson had three receptions for 54 yards against Michigan State; each came on third down and each resulted in a first down. In addition, he also drew a pass-interference penalty on Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes that resulted in a first down. It was one of four penalties called on Waynes and one of five (four pass interference, one holding) called on Spartans cornerbacks by the Big Ten crew. (Afterward, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio was asked if he ever had seen five penalties called on one team's cornerbacks in one game. "I've been coaching 30-plus years -- no, never," Dantonio told reporters. "I guess that's why we should stop talking about it right there.")
Robinson's first career catch had come two weeks earlier, in a loss to Michigan. He didn't have a catch last week against Purdue, though he did draw an interference call, then had his breakout game against Michigan State. On each of his catches Saturday, Robinson beat man-to-man coverage.
"He's a big target and he tracks the ball so very well," Irish coach Brian Kelly told IrishIllustrated.com. "If you keep the ball in a position to where he can [use his height], he's very difficult to defend."
Robinson said his size definitely was an advantage Saturday.
"I knew they were coming to me because it was a man-on-man matchup and I'm 6-5 [the school lists him at 6-4]," he told reporters. "That's what they recruited me for. I knew I had to make plays and help my team out."
Robinson enrolled early and went through spring practice. He has said the extra conditioning he received in the spring and summer prepared him to play immediately.
Robinson doesn't possess blazing speed and was not a celebrated recruit. He generally was considered one of the nation's top 60 wide receiver prospects out of San Antonio Christian Academy and chose the Irish over Wake Forest, Kansas, North Carolina and Iowa. He hasn't been playing football that long and played at a small high school that ran the ball the majority of the time. His best attribute, other than his size, are his hands.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
