Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 55 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE into his first semester at Notre Dame after he enrolled this January with four other members of the 2017 class and is onto the next chapter in his student-athlete career. The first one turned out pretty well. "It's a blessing to be in the situa- tion I am in," Robertson said while reflecting on his accomplishments in high school. "It's a proud moment for me to realize that I set a standard for Neuqua Valley football. It's a bless- ing to be looked at in that way and I hope after I leave there will be plenty of kids coming through doing more and succeeding. "I really don't know what my leg- acy would be. I feel I've set an ex- ample that you need to work hard for everything you want and dream about. I believe I've set an example for that there." Accomplishing program firsts at Notre Dame may present a more difficult challenge for Robertson. Though he was focused on others early in his recruiting process and things didn't go exactly as originally planned, Robertson's path became a little clearer after taking a deeper look at Notre Dame. "I went on an exclusive Junior Day that they have in February," he said. "When they walked me around and showed me everything that was hap- pening, I knew then that was where I wanted to be and go to school and have a college career at. Everything you can ask for is at that university and when they offered me [last April] I had to jump at it. "I was looking at Michigan State and Miami really. I really wanted to go to one of those. Things didn't re- ally work out with them and I had a hard time with that. Once I came to Notre Dame and saw what they have to offer and what type of university it is, I was happy I didn't make those decisions because Notre Dame is where I'm supposed to be at." The firsts achieved by Robertson are part of the benchmark he set and the future of the Neuqua Valley pro- gram will strive to meet and exceed. It is only fitting that for three years Rob- ertson's donned the No. 1 jersey. ✦ ISAIAH ROBERTSON ATHLETE 6-1 · 195 NEUQUA VALLEY H.S. BOLINGBROOK, ILL. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 202 18 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 113 10 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 281 23 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 30 6 MEASURABLES • Per his high school coach, Bill Ellinghaus, he runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. STATISTICS • Was held back by a hamstring injury during his senior campaign, but managed to record 50 tackles, three passes broken up, two fumble recoveries and an interception on defense for a Neuqua Valley team that went 8-2 and qualified for the 2016 Illinois Class 8A High School Football playoffs. • Also caught 29 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns as a wide receiver. • As a junior, he recorded 50 catches for 803 yards and nine scores. • Burst on the scene as a sophomore, catching 30 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns. HONORS • Named first-team defense All-USA Illinois by USA Today as both a junior and senior. • Earned a spot on the 2016 EdgyTim.com All-State team as a defensive back, and was identified as one of Illinois' "best two-way players." • Earned a spot on the 2016 Chicago Tribune Preps Plus All-State first team. • Was a two-time Naperville Sun All-Area first-team selection. • Tabbed as a DuPage Valley All-Conference per- former as a senior. • Listed as a four-star member of the PrepStar Top 350 Dream Team, ranked as the No. 330 overall player and No. 48 wide receiver in the country. • Selected to the Illinois Football Coaches Associa- tion Class 8A All-State team as a junior. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in a Rivals Camp Series event May 3, 2015, held at O'Fallon High School in St. Louis. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on April 15, 2016, over offers from Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt, among others. • Visited campus unofficially for the Stanford game (Oct. 15) during the season and took his official visit over the weekend of Notre Dame's postseason awards banquet (Dec. 9-11). • Also visited South Bend for a Junior Day last Feb- ruary and in early April, when he received an offer from the staff. • Primarily recruited by former associate head coach and wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock. NOTABLE • Born March 29, 1999. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January 2017. • Plans to major in communications with a minor in theater. • Has played the piano since fifth grade and loves acting. • Loves to play R&B songs on piano and partici- pated in a Black History Month play as Muhammad Ali. 2017 PROJECTION • Notre Dame lacks ideal depth at safety, which puts Robertson in position to compete for early play- ing time. THEY SAID IT Head coach Brian Kelly: "Great length. His reach is really incredible in terms of what we were able to see in our testing. Again, a guy that we think can play the safety position for us at a high level. Comes from a great family. His dad played at Wisconsin. He's got great genes. "In terms of where we play him, he played safety, a lot of wide receiver, but we want to focus on the defensive side of the ball with him." Defensive backs coach Todd Lyght: "Really, really talented player. He excelled on both sides of the ball. I like his ball skills and obviously he is an early en- rollee for us and that is going to give him a big jump on the class of 2017. I think he is a guy that can make an immediate impact for us." BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "Robertson is a high IQ football player with good speed and range. Notre Dame needs safeties that can come into the box and handle the run game just as effectively as they can cover and make plays in the pass game. He might need a year to fill out and add enough strength to be a factor at safety, but the skills are there for him to be that kind of player. "Enrolling early will help him get a jump on that physical development, and once it happens he has the dual-threat skills to be a productive safety in the Irish defense." Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell: "Tall defensive back with good range and length. Physical kid who is a willing tackler and has good ball skills on defense. Could easily play offense as a wide receiver." Robertson was a full-time starter on offense and defense during his junior and senior years at Neuqua Valley. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS