Brent Pease realizes it’s way too early to judge how good freshman wide receiver Demarcus Robinson can be at Florida.
But at this point, the Gators offensive coordinator is willing to set the ceiling pretty high.
“I’m not appointing him the greatest thing on Earth yet because he’s got to play a game,” Pease said about the former Peach County High School star.
Robinson’s play thus far has inspired some pretty high praise. On Tuesday, cornerback Marcus Roberson called him “the best (player) I’ve seen so far in person as a freshman.”
Pease called Robinson a “phenomenal athlete,” with “great hands,” prerequisites for greatness at his position.
But there’s more. The freshman also has ideal size (6-foot-2, 201 pounds), the strength to get off the line of scrimmage, the speed to get downfield and the explosiveness to win the ball in the air.
In short, Robinson pretty much has it all. And he combines those tools with a strong work ethic.
“In every repetition, you can see him get better,” Pease said.
Robinson certainly walked into a situation where he was given a chance to stand out. The Gators were starved for a playmaking wide receiver when Robinson arrived on campus Jan. 7, four days after a 33-23 loss in the Sugar Bowl to Louisville.
The game featured another punchless performance from Florida’s passing game. But Robinson offered hope that things could improve.
Gators fans who follow recruiting knew Robinson, who caught 15 touchdowns as a senior at Peach County, was a top prospect. He amplified fans’ fascination of him when he committed to Clemson and Florida twice each, finally settling on the Gators.
Since then, Robinson has done nothing to temper expectations.
Although he missed a good bit of spring practice with an ankle sprain, Robinson out-wrestled cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy for a leaping catch down the sideline during the April 6 spring game.
At last Thursday’s open practice, Robinson electrified a crowd of about 1,000 when he slipped behind Roberson and made a one-handed catch of a deep ball from quarterback Jeff Driskel.
Holding his own against Purifoy and Roberson, who form one of the nation’s top cornerback tandems, is impressive for a teen. The only thing left for Robinson to prove now is that he can do the same things on Saturdays, beginning next week in the season opener against Toledo.
“It’s a lot different than what you played in high school because the energy level is high, the expectations are higher, the game is much faster,” Pease said.
Robinson, though, has been able to keep up, keep improving and keep impressing.
Pease, a longtime receivers coach, likened Robinson’s ability to make tough catches to that of the St. Louis Rams’ Austin Pettis. Pease coached Pettis at Boise State, where he set school records with 229 catches and 39 receiving touchdowns.
But Pease sees a key difference in Robinson.
“He probably has a lot more speed and athleticism,” Pease said.
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