Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
6 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 3 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / lated into an excellent sophomore season, with Robinson totaling 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in his first year as a true edge rusher. But it wasn't just the stats that im- pressed. Pro Football Focus, which grades every Division I player and how he im- pacts each individual snap throughout the season, ranked Robinson as the sixth- best edge rusher in the nation. That's out of more than 1,000 defensive ends who played at the FBS level in 2022. His overall defensive grade of 90.6 was also the best among Power Five edge rushers. Even Robinson admitted that his im- mediate success last year was a bit of a surprise. He pointed to his teammates such as fellow edge rusher Adisa Isaac and the culture within Penn State's de- fensive line room as major reasons why he ascended so quickly. "It was actually a bit of a shocker. It came so fast," Robinson said. "But I also kind of saw it coming, too, because of our D-line and the guys I'm surrounded by. I was uplifted every single day. We're com- peting every day. It's just a brotherhood. Having that atmosphere in the D-line group, I think it really did help me elevate my game. I think it really helped me men- tally with everything. "Learning things from a guy like Adisa Isaac — he really helped me with my hands. I came in as an outside 'backer and had to learn how to be a defensive end at this level. He was teaching me when I was getting frustrated. They were always telling me to chill and take it day by day. Having them around was a big deal. It was very helpful." Driven To Improve With Isaac now back for his redshirt senior year, along with Robinson, soph- omore Dani Dennis-Sutton and junior Amin Vanover, Penn State will have no shortage of talented edge rushers this fall. A year ago, that foursome combined to produce 13 of the 15 total sacks by the po- sition group. Both Isaac and Robinson are already garnering preseason All-Big Ten honors, too, with Athlon Sports naming Robinson to its first-team all-conference squad and Isaac to its second-team unit. The defensive line is under new man- agement this season, with Deion Barnes having replaced John Scott Jr. The change took place relatively late in the offsea- son. Scott left for the Detroit Lions at the end of February, and Barnes was officially named to the position just before the start of spring practice in March. But because Barnes spent the past three years as a graduate assistant, familiarity won't be an issue for Robinson and his teammates. The standard hasn't changed for 2023. If anything, it's higher than ever. Barnes said his expectations for Rob- inson this fall are to "just take everything game-by-game and dominate the man in front of him." "I don't have any stats I want him to reach or anything like that," the first-year position coach added, "but I expect him to be dominant against the person he's playing on a down-by-down basis." Speculation has been heating up that Robinson will be going to the NFL after the 2023 season. Analyst Dane Brugler of The Athletic gave him a first-round grade in his early 2024 mock draft, listing Rob- inson as the 17th-best player available. Asked if he had given much thought to leaving early, Robinson was noncom- mittal, saying he'll do "whatever God has planned for me." In the meantime, Robinson will be looking to make the most of a 2023 season full of high hopes, both for himself and the team. He said his personal objectives are subservient to what he and his team- mates are looking to achieve. "I have a few individual goals, sure, but my main goal is just winning games and making sure we're the best D-line group we can be. I want to make sure everybody is better," Robinson said. "If we focus on that, everything else will take care of itself. "Individually, I wanted to have a way better season than I did last year, whether it was sacks, tackles, all those types of things. But team success is what matters. If we focus on that, individual success will come. That's all that really matters." ■ Robinson totaled 10 tackles for loss and 5 sacks in his first season as an edge rusher with the Nittany Lions last fall. Athlon Sports tabbed him as a preseason first-team all-conference pick this year. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE