Originally Posted by stumppy:
That's the kind of guy you want on your team.
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...3134d0550.html
They are starting to seek out Kenny Robinson Jr.
Some are stuck. Some are frustrated. Some are just curious.
They want to know how this works. They want to know if it's working.
Robinson’s answer?
“I feel like I made the right call,” he said last week. “I’m enjoying everything, and I’m learning a lot.”
When the BattleHawks make their XFL home debut against the New York Guardians on Sunday afternoon at The Dome, one of the most fascinating players in the relaunched professional football league will take the field as a BattleHawks safety.
Robinson, 21, is the first player who left college eligibility on the table to jump to the XFL. He’s part defensive back, part litmus test.
One of the most interesting keys to the long-term health of this second, grown-up version of the XFL will come down to the football talent the league can land. If the XFL eventually wants to transition from NFL stepping stone to NFL competitor, keeping that talent will become just as important as acquiring it. But before you can keep it, you have to acquire it. And that’s why the XFL is going to clash more with college football than the NFL for the time being.
It should try to, at least. Because the XFL can offer some college players an enticing opportunity. Just ask Robinson.
While the talking heads on national TV debate if famous college players such as Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence should or should not consider the XFL as an alternate route to the NFL, Robinson is the one already figuring out the path.
A mistake made him a potential football pioneer.
After totaling 123 tackles and seven interceptions in two seasons at West Virginia, in 2017 and 2018, Robinson was dismissed from the team for committing an academic misconduct violation. He entered the transfer portal, but said a disagreement with West Virginia about an unpaid bill kept him from securing his transcripts.
The red tape was creating a headache as he considered transfer possibilities. Robinson was not yet eligible to enter the NFL draft, because the current rule agreed upon between NFL players and teams states that NFL draft prospects must be three years removed from high school. He felt stuck, more than anything.
What about the XFL? His trainer brought up the idea. It grew.
Robinson is not old enough to remember the stigma of Vince McMahon’s last shot at starting a professional football league, in 2001, a silly attempt that tried and failed to bring pro wrestling to the gridiron. The more Robinson learned about the new version of the XFL, the more he liked the sound of it.
The XFL does not restrict its draft pool like the NFL. Signing a one-season XFL contract would let Robinson meet NFL draft requirements, but not block him from entering it. He would play immediately in the XFL instead of watching an entire season from the sideline, which would have been required by the NCAA if he transferred to another college.
The XFL, unlike college football, would pay him. He could use the money to help assist his mom, who had been diagnosed with cancer. And the XFL even offered to help him pay for online classes while playing for the BattleHawks.
“After going through it, seeing what everything was about, it made the most sense,” Robinson said. “I had the chance to do something no one had ever done before. I could play football, get paid and still go to school, if I want.”
A college player as dominant as Clemson's Lawrence has little reason to risk taking a non-traditional route to NFL riches. Most others are wise to use scholarships to get degrees before NFL hopes fade. But there is a significant group of players who can relate to Robinson, for a variety of reasons.
One look at the overloaded transfer portal shows plenty of disgruntled players on campuses across America. Players with NFL talent who are not interested in academics are not hard to find, either. As long as the NCAA fights off calls to give players a bigger portion of its staggering revenue, even modest XFL contracts seem appealing to those with financial concerns.
Robinson says he feels more prepared for the NFL now than he did after two college seasons. He credits his veteran BattleHawks teammates with helping him get a feel for the pro football routine, a schedule-oriented process that stresses attention to details. His head coach, Jonathan Hayes, thinks Robinson will be drafted into the NFL in late April, and that his BattleHawks film will help his stock.
“He has great range in the back end,” said Hayes, who made the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Robinson the 39th pick in the XFL draft. “He has good ball skills. And he has great closing speed. He’s going to have a chance.”
Robinson doesn’t just sense the eyes on him multiplying.
He receives text messages and phone calls from college players who are intrigued.
“A lot of guys hit me up,” Robinson said. “They want to know how everything is handled, how I got into this situation, little things like that. Guys are asking me questions about it. If I do what I’m supposed to do, it’s going to start happening more frequently.”
[Reply]
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65786698/EJ7JWnvWoBIAip2.0.jpg){kind=link}