Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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is going to run. He worked on padding out his wiry frame in the winter. And he's trying to become a player his team- mates can turn to with their questions. Juniors Chris Brown and C.J. Prosise have been on campus for a semester longer than Robinson and are reliable sources of knowledge. Robinson said he's still very much in the process of asking questions about the offense him- self, but his experience on the field last year puts him in a position where he has to help his classmates. "The mantle of leadership has been passed, and it's been kind of thrown," he said. "It has not been passed gently, especially with DaVaris gone." Robinson slid into a larger leader- ship role with grace this spring. Of- fensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock thinks that might have something to do with growing up around his father, David Robinson, an NBA champion and all-star with the San Antonio Spurs. With Torii Hunter Jr. and Daniels, the Irish could conceivably have a com- plete starting lineup at wide receiver composed of the sons of professional athletes. "I don't think anything shakes them. At their core, they've been around it," Denbrock said. "If your dad has played against the best in NBA history or your dad has hit home runs against the best pitchers in history, you've kind of lived in that environment and nothing is too big for them." Robinson's main adjustment this spring was likely getting used to a new quarterback delivering the ball. Rob- inson said it took a little longer than expected to work out some of his tim- ing with the presumed Irish starter. When Everett Golson was not around last spring, Robinson worked more frequently with fellow early enrollee Malik Zaire. Golson knows the offense well and leaves less room for errors, according to Robinson. His passes also reach re- ceivers faster than the sophomore is used to. Robinson said he was more in sync with Zaire on his routes at the start of spring, but not necessarily for the right reasons. "Malik is like me. He's very talented, but he's still trying to figure it out. Me and him, we're often on the same page because we're on the wrong page," Robinson said. "With Everett there's not as much room for mistakes because he knows it in and out." When Golson is under center it's less likely that one of Robinson's mistakes will go unnoticed. That's no longer a scary prospect for Robinson, who said it didn't keep him from experimenting in the first five practices of spring ball. "I'm open to try things," he said. "I've been trying ways to get off the line for instance during the seven-on-sevens. I'll try different things. If it doesn't work I'll get yelled at. If it does work then I'll keep rolling with it." ✦ "THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN PASSED, AND IT'S BEEN KIND OF THROWN. IT HAS NOT BEEN PASSED GENTLY." ROBINSON