The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 73 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • At a Kornblue Kicking Challenge on Dec. 31, 2016, Rob- bins had punts of 46 and 54 yards with hang times of 5.06 and 5.04 seconds, respectively. • At the Kornblue Kicking Challenge in July of 2016, Rob- bins recorded a best punt of 47 yards with a hang time of 4.49 seconds. Over 10 punts at that camp, Robbins averaged 41 yards with a hang time of 4.36 seconds. • At Kohl's Kicking 2017 Senior Showcase, he averaged over 5.0 seconds of hang time on his attempts with several going over 5.2 • Claims a 35-inch vertical jump. STATISTICS • From sophomore to senior year, he averaged more than 40 yards per punt. HONORS • Named Kornblue's Punting Champion for the class of 2017, ranked the No. 1 punter nationally by the service. • Listed as the No. 3 punter nationally and No. 1 in the state of Ohio by ProKicker.com. • Kohl's Kicking rated him the No. 4 punter in the land. • Recognized as a Ray Guy ProKicker.com Top Prospect Award winner, which earned him a spot at the National Top Prospect Camp. • Three-time All-Central District and all-conference punter. RECRUITMENT • Originally committed to Nevada in Oct. of 2015, but the staff was fired at the end of the 2016 season. After not hear- ing from the new staff for over a month, Robbins decided to look around. • Received late-cycle offers from Navy, Illinois and Rutgers, and officially visited Illinois during the weekend before National Signing Day. • Michigan came through with an offer just before signing day and Robbins accepted. He visited the following week- end and officially signed his papers. • Head coach Jim Harbaugh, and special teams assistants Jay Harbaugh and Chris Partridge were all involved with bringing Robbins to U-M. NOTABLE • Born Oct. 6, 1998. • 3.375 GPA. • 25 ACT score (out of 36), which is considered excellent by PrepScholar.com. • Began prep career at Worthington (Ohio) Christian before finishing at Westerville South. • Ran more than 85 yards for a touchdown after a bad snap in a high school game. He picked the ball up around his own goal line and went the distance for a score. • Played soccer, football, basketball and baseball every year until senior season. He earned all-conference laurels in soc- cer and baseball. • Hit first high school home run (traveled about 420 feet) was in a wood-bat tournament during the summer of 2015. • As a junior, made a steal, led the fast break and had first in-game dunk (two-handed) during basketball season. 2017 PROJECTION With no other scholarship punter on the roster, Robbins is going to get a shot to prove he can handle the duties. Red- shirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordin is being penciled in as the incumbent place kicker with no punting responsibilities, meaning Robbins could win the job outright. It'll be interest- ing to see how unproven walk-ons and young scholarship specialists battle it out for an important phase of the game in 2017. THEY SAID IT Rick Sang, Director Of Ray Guy ProKicker.com Camps: "Bradley Robbins ranks as the best high school punter in the state of Ohio. Going into his senior year, he has already recorded a 5.0 [second] hang time — which is a great hang time, even using NFL standards." Kornblue Kicking Founder And Former Michigan Kicker Brandon Kornblue: "He's an incredible athlete, first of all. The levers and the body type with the athleticism that he has makes him the whole package. … I was willing to put my name out there because he's that good. Quinn [Nordin], last year, is a kicker who can punt; Brad is pretty much the opposite as a punter who can kick. They should be great compliments to each other." KohlsKicking.com: "Robbins had a dominant showing at the 2017 Senior Showcase. … He is one of the most college- ready punters in the country. He is D1 ready right now. … Robbins has solid technical refinement and great power. He is explosive in his hips, the ball jumps off his foot and his repeatability in his catch/mold is probably his most impres- sive trait that he has." BRAD ROBBINS PUNTER 6-2 • 180 WESTERVILLE SOUTH H.S. WESTERVILLE, OHIO RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ — — — — — 18 — ✪ ✪ — 10 — ✪ ✪ ✪ — 14 (K) 38 Robbins is ranked as the nation's No. 1 punter by former U-M kicker Brandon Kornblue, who has become a widely regarded expert in the field with his Kornblue Kicking camps and training. PHOTO COURTESY BRAD ROBBINS VIA TWITTER FORMER MICHIGAN KICKER BRANDON KORNBLUE, FOUNDER OF KORNBLUE KICKING "He's an incredible athlete, first of all. The levers and the body type with the athleticism that he has makes him the whole package."