The running back Mario Cristobal needs is a 16-year-old wunderkind from Madison, Mississippi. The Germantown High School junior is 5-11, 218, squats 615 pounds and runs a 4.49 40. He's got a key to the weight room and a 3.5 G.P.A.
In an interview with Jeff Sawtell of Dawgation.com Robinson revealed just why he is the feature back the Oregon head coach has been looking for to achieve the power-running, smash mouth offense of his dreams:
“When I run the football I’m looking to dish out pain,” Branson Robinson said. “Especially on the first couple of runs. I want to set the tone. Once you get in their heads and keep hitting them like that, well come around the fourth quarter they don’t want to hit you anymore.”
“I’m an angry runner. When the seams open up, I do look for the seams to open up. But if somebody is in my way trying to stop me from seeing that seam, then I am looking to dish out violence to them.”
A quick look at his highlight film proves him a man of his word:
The missing element in the Oregon offense is a Najee Harris/Derrick Henry/Herchel Walker big back, a guy who can define a recruiting class the way Kayvon Thibodeaux, Noah Sewell or Ty Thompson did, a game changer. Robinson is focused power. He runs mean and finishes.
Georgia has a big lead for the 2022 prospect. He's a great admirer of Nick Chubb and Herschel Walker, inspired so much by Walker's story that he started doing a 1000 pushups a day in 9th grade. Alabama, Michigan, Florida State, LSU and Auburn all see him as the next link in their running back legacies.
It's a classic recruiting story, one of big dreams and frenzied competition. To win national titles, a school has to win their share of battles like this one.
Closer to home, dynamic Duck target Trejon Williams EXPLODED in the opening week of Oregon high school football, turning in an electrifying afternoon in Jefferson's 32-14 win over Roosevelt. The 6-0, 180-pound four-star safety uncorked a 72-yard punt return, a 37-yard TD catch, six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in one productive afternoon.
The punt return got a retweet from Mario Cristobal:
Oregon's signed the highest-rated offensive line class in the West for each of the last two seasons. To do that again in 2022, they'll have to win the competition for Earnest Greene III, the four-star offensive tackle from St. John Bosco, 6-5, 330, massive and nimble.
His father coaches for the Braves and played in the NFL. This month Greene was named to the Polynesian Bowl and released a top ten:
This weekend his team rolled for 354 yards rushing in a 65-28 win over Santa Margarita. They have a showdown with Junipero Serra next.
Freshman quarterback Robby Ashford shined on the diamond this weekend, rapping a single and a triple with two stolen bases in the Ducks 5-3 win over Arizona State Sunday. Oregon opened their PAC-12 season with a 2-1 series victory over the Devils, bringing their season mark to 10-4.
In the 8th inning of a one-run ball game Ashford showed off the smarts and athleticism that makes him a tantalizing prospect at quarterback. He worked the ASU pitcher for a walk, stole second, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly.
The defensive star of the Under Armour camp series in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend was Walter Nolen of St. Benedict High School in Cordova, Tennessee, 6-5, 300. The four-star defensive tackle routinely wrecked hapless offensive linemen in drills, earning defensive MVP.
