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ed lifting weights, so it's not like that's it. He's just naturally built like that, built strong and just built solid." It's made him the consummate point-of-impact player, whether it be in the middle linebacker role Purdue projects him for or the collision-oriented fullback role he'll play this season for Lake Central and could conceivably see in a spot role for the Boilermakers one day. "I'm still getting used to playing inside linebacker," Robinson said, "… but I think once I get up there my size is perfect for a college middle linebacker and my speed and strength can match up pretty well, too." Robinson was an interesting case in recruiting, right up until the day this summer he committed to Purdue over other offers from Illinois, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Indiana and others. He's generally listed, and ranked, by services as an edge player, whether it be defensive end or outside linebacker, because of the explosiveness he shows coming off the line of scrimmage and getting into opposing blockers or ball-carriers with authority. But Robinson's height and physicality, he thinks, as does Purdue, make him a better fit for the interior, to operate between the tackles, in confined spaces, playing for confrontation in confined spaces. "His physicality suits that well," said Lake Central coach Brett St. Germain, who initially figured Robin- 40 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 1 son would be recruited to play outside, "and I think he'll handle it well." His temperament is ideal, also, his brother said. "He's always been a tough-nosed kid always trying to get into some trouble around the house, just doing anything that involved hitting, whether it was football, wrestling, anything like that," Glenn Robinson III said. "He was just a tough kid. Out on the playground, if he'd fall he'd just get right back up. Even when he was little, he wouldn't even cry if he fell. He'd just get back up." Badly needing a physical presence at linebacker and a leader for a defense that must improve for the Boilermakers to win the way Hazell intends to, Purdue sees Robinson as that player, eager to put him in the middle of that defense as a centerpiece, both literally and figuratively, looking to maximize his impact. For Lake Central this season, Robinson will play all over, hoping for that chance. In Hammond, he played end on both sides and lined up occasionally as an interior lineman. St. Germain said he'll also play some linebacker as his staff takes measures to keep offenses from scheming away from their best defensive player. "Gelen's the type of player they definitely need to know where he is and a big part of their schemes has been to keep an eye on where No. 9 is on defense," St. Germain said. "That's part of being a great player and he has to deal with that." Robinson will have much to deal with at Purdue, whether it be the expectation coming in as a landmark recruit for a new coaching staff or the added visibility that'll come with being the offspring of one of the school's best ever. But it should be noted that Purdue recruited Gelen Robinson as Gelen Robinson and not Glenn Robinson's son. "It definitely had a positive effect on me. My family has a great tradition at Purdue," Robinson said of his family's associations with the program. "… But I didn't pick Purdue just because my father went to Purdue or my mother went to Purdue. It was my choice, because they recruited me for me, as a player, and not because of what my father had done there." j f