SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Trevor Robinson earned the top spot on the Notre Dame depth chart at right guard largely on videotape.
That’s because first-year offensive line coach Frank Verducci couldn’t watch Robinson perform during spring practices because the 6-5, 305-pound sophomore from Elkhorn, Neb., was recovering from right shoulder surgery. He still managed to impress Verducci by the way he played as a freshman with a shoulder injured before last season began.
“He has a toughness level which would be top-shelf for any level of football,” Verducci said.
Verducci might have had trouble recognizing Robinson at first, since he was easy to spot last season with long hair hanging out from his helmet. Robinson cut it off after the loss to USC, saying it was time for a change.
Robinson got on the field in Notre Dame’s second game last season against Michigan and started late in the season against Boston College, Navy and Syracuse when Chris Stewart sustained a knee injury, becoming just the fifth Irish player to start on the line as a freshman.
Although Stewart and the other starting guard, Eric Olsen, return for the Irish, Robinson is penciled in as a starter with Olsen now working at center. Robinson knows, though, he has to earn the starting position.
“It’s good to be able to take those reps with the first group, but I still have a lot to prove,” he said.
That’s true of the entire offensive line, a weak spot for the Irish the past two seasons. Last year, the Irish finished 100th in the nation rushing, averaging 109.7 yards a game, and gave up 22 sacks, ranking 45th in the nation. Robinson chose to sign with the Irish even after they finished the 2007 season ranked 115th in the nation in rushing with a school-record low 75 yards a game and surrendering an NCAA-record 58 sacks.
Robinson is a good fit at right guard because in Notre Dame’s system the right guard is often left isolated one-on-one, coach Charlie Weis said.
“We believe that he’s a guy that could athletically be in that position to give us the best chance to be successful,” Weis said.
Verducci said Robinson is a good candidate for the position because of his size, strength and quickness. But he said he’ll be challenged by Andrew Nuss and others.
So far Robinson and backup left tackle Matt Romine and backup right tackle Taylor Dever, who also both missed spring practice with injuries, have looked a bit rusty in practice, Verducci said.
“They’ve got to double their reps, basically, trying to close the gap between themselves and the young men going through spring practice,” he said.
Verducci has seen enough from Robinson to be encouraged.
“He’ll flash something in practice and you’ll say, ‘Yes, this is the guy I saw on tape last year,'” he said. “He’s an extremely smart football player. The term I like to use is he can connect the dots. He can figure it out. Things can happen that maybe we haven’t specifically gone over. But he can associate it to what we have gone over and make the correct decision in a snap.”
