Aug. 04--Football recruiting is all about measurements.
Aside from the usual standards like height, weight, speed, strength and vertical jump, Tinley Park senior wide receiver Maurice Robinson discovered another telling method to judge his recruiting -- his driving time.
After visiting more than 10 college camps this summer, including Illinois, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois, Robinson has become adept at driving for long distances.
"The farthest I've driven is five hours," Robinson said. "Me and my mom do a pretty good job of switching up."
Robinson's desire to play Division I football is forging a deeper bond with his mother, his companion during most of his college camp visits. Ten pounds bigger than last season, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Robinson measures well as a next-level prospect.
With a 40-yard dash time of 4.68 seconds and a 36-inch vertical, Robinson has two Division II offers -- Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. -- but he's certainly not afraid of visiting numerous colleges. Last weekend, Robinson traveled to Eastern Michigan for a one-day camp on July 24, then drove 131/2 hours for a camp at North Dakota State the following day.
"I really like competing in front of coaches who are trying to give me an opportunity to play at the next level," he said.
Robinson understands the importance of a strong showing in the first three games this season for college recruiters, with Tinley Park's schedule on his phone to remind him. The Titans open the season against Rich South, then play St. Ignatius and T.F. North.
"I felt last year I could've done better," Robinson said. "I talked to a lot of Division I schools. Pretty much what they are telling me about is after the third game, if I play and compete at the level like this summer in my first three games, I will have more opportunities. I think about those three games a lot, mainly because it means so much to my future. I just try and work hard in practice and we will see what happens in those first three games."
Robinson is set to become a bigger part of the offense after catching 37 passes for 321 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He also will play at safety, and can return punts, if needed.
"Maurice has made tremendous progress since last year," Tinley Park coach Nick Johnston said. "He really made an effort to improve his route-running, getting in and out of his cuts. He knew he had to practice his breaks. He's made a lot of improvement and effort in running crisp routes, plus his speed has improved as well. He's had a lot of D-I looks, a lot."
Class of 2016 dwindling: Less than four weeks before the start of the football season, and a week away from the opening of fall practice, the top players from the Class of 2016 from the Chicago area have all nearly wrapped up their recruiting.
Naperville Central senior wide receiver/defensive back Emmanuel Rugamba became the latest player on Saturday, when he became the fifth Chicago-area recruit to commit to Iowa.
Of the Top 25 players in the state, according to the most recent 247Sports.com rankings, Lake Forest Academy defensive end Thomas Schaffer (No. 11), Oswego quarterback Steven Frank (No. 16), Geneva tackle Loudon Vollbrecht (No. 23) and Homewood-Flossmoor guard Desmond Bland (No. 24) are the only remaining uncommitted players from the Chicago area.
Looking deeper, in the Top 50, Homewood-Flossmoor wide receiver Kendric Pryor (No. 37) and Nazareth defensive end/tight end Matt Prendergast (No. 48) remain undecided.
Tim O'Halloran of Edgytim.com has been involved in scouting players from Chicago for more than 20 years, but he said the current trend of recruits committing early is new.
"I can never remember having this many kids verbally committing so early," O'Halloran said. "It's at least three times or more kids committed at this time of the year than last year. If you don't have those offers or are not committed, you better get out and start looking at Division II or I-AA.
"The entire clock has been pushed ahead almost a year ahead of time. June has become the new December. Kids are making verbal commitments in May or June, when normally they would be doing it in December."
Narang is a freelance reporter.
