AIR FORCE ACADEMY — At first glance, one might wonder what Jalen Robinette is doing at the Air Force Academy.
He is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound wide receiver who has double-digit catches per game written all over him. The only problem is, Air Force thrives with an offense based on the ground game.
“I knew about the offense when I came here,” said Robinette, a junior from Bexley, Ohio. “We’re a run-first team, but we can throw the ball a little and with some trickery that might catch the defense sleeping.”
Robinette has been part of the trickery. He is 2-for-2 with two touchdowns on passes off reverses.
But his real value is as a pass receiver — and as a blocker in the running game. He has 20 catches for 562 yards this season, an average of 28.1 yards per catch, and four touchdowns.
Robinette had his biggest game of the season Nov. 14 against Utah State, when he made seven catches for 210 yards — including a 74-yard touchdown. The 210 yards were the most receiving yards for an AFA player in a game since 1978.
“He continues to learn and improve,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of Robinette. “One of the areas he’s improved immensely this year is in his point-of-attack blocking. He has been a force as a blocker, so he’s learning different ways to contribute.”
The Falcons (8-3, 6-1 Mountain West) play their regular-season finale Saturday night at New Mexico. They have already clinched the Mountain Division title and will play San Diego State on Dec. 5 in the conference championship game.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss
Saturday’s area college games:
Noon UNLV at Wyoming, ROOT
12:30 p.m. Colorado at Utah, PAC-12
7 p.m. Colorado State at Fresno State, CBSSN
8:15 p.m. Air Force at New Mexico, ESPNU
