Blue White Illustrated

I t may seem hard to fathom given Penn State's relentless approach to in-state recruiting under James Franklin, but just a few years ago, the Nittany Lions did not have much of a presence at Bishop McDevitt High School. Over the past decade, McDevitt has pro- duced as much Division I talent as just about any school in the state. Since 2003, the Crusaders have sent 23 players to Football Bowl Subdivision programs, 18 of whom have gone to schools in what are now referred to as the Power Five confer- ences. But even though Penn State is less than 100 miles from McDevitt's campus in Harrisburg, none of those players signed with the Nittany Lions. That is, until running back Andre Robin- son o9cially joined the Lions' Class of 2015. Robinson, a 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back, signed with Penn State in February, and he's hopeful that his deci- sion will reverse the program's bad-luck streak. "I hope I can be the one who changes that, the one who starts a pipeline," he said. "I know [LeSean] McCoy was inter- ested in Penn State before he broke his ankle. Also, Noah [Spence] would have probably ended up there if the whole San- dusky thing didn't happen." Robinson's interest in the Nittany Lions dates back to his sophomore season, when he took an uno9cial visit for their White Out game against Ohio State in 2012. He made several return trips the following year, and even though the team was facing scholarship restrictions and an NCAA bowl ban at the time, his interest level remained high. The only time Robinson wavered was following the 2013 season. A:er Bill O'Brien and his sta8 le: for the NFL, he grew concerned that the program's new coach, whoever that might be, wouldn't maintain the relationships O'Brien had built. But when Franklin took over, Robin- son was quickly reassured. "I originally had a pretty good relation- ship with Coach O'Brien's sta8, Coach [Charles] London especially," he said. "Those guys were great, so I was kind of bummed when I saw they were leaving. But I already knew Penn State was a school I really liked." Robinson visited again a few weeks a:er Franklin was hired and came away im- pressed. "Immediately, his energy just blew me away," he said. "I remember my mom fell in love with those coaches right away." Within a month of that initial meeting, Robinson ended his recruitment, com- mitting to Penn State on Feb. 27. There were a few other factors that played into his decision, one of which was that he wanted to focus on his senior season with- out having to worry about recruiting dis- tractions. During his first three seasons, Robinson helped lead the Crusaders to a 41-6 record. They didn't claim a state title during that three-year span and were eager to end the drought last fall. But the team fell short, losing to Central Val- ley, 26-21, in the PIAA Class AAA semi- finals. However, Robinson finished his career by smashing the school's all-time touchdowns record, scoring 94. That's an impressive distinction, as Bishop McDevitt produced both McCoy and an- other Philadelphia Eagles running back, Ricky Watters. "It was tough at times, coming that close to a state title and falling short," Robinson said. "But I still wouldn't change anything. Playing at McDevitt was le- gitimately the best decision I've ever made. Coach [ Jeff ] Weachter knows everybody. Plus, playing with guys like Noah Spence attracted so many coaches to our games. McDevitt got me the ex- posure I needed." Robinson is set to join a crowded and youthful Nittany Lion back7eld this fall. His goal is to compete for playing time right away, but no matter how things shape up over the next few months, he believes the team's back7eld spots are in capable hands. "I've known Saquon [Barkley] for a while, and I think we're going to have a lot of fun working together," Robinson said. "The sta8 is always going to rotate guys to keep everyone fresh, so I'm not looking at him as a competitor or anything like that. We each bring something a little di8erent to the team. We're going to have a lot of fun." ■ THE ROBINSON FILE STATS Rushed for 1,531 yards and 17 TDs as a senior de- spite missing six games with a knee injury... Totaled 2,338 rushing yards (9.0 ypc) and 29 TDs as a junior... Broke the school record for career rushing TDs with 94 HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the nation's No. 40 running back and No. 10 prospect in Pennsylvania... Was named the PIAA Class AAA Player of the Year in 2013 by the Pennsylvania Foot- ball Writers... Won first-team All-State honors fol- lowing his junior and senior seasons CLICK HERE to see video of Robinson in action. Robinson hopes to open doors for Penn State |

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