UK Football Over/Unders: All-Purpose Yards for Wan'Dale Robinson
In this edition of Cats Illustrated's "UK Football Over/Unders," we take a stab at how many all-purpose yards newcomer Wan'Dale Robinson will record in his first season with the Wildcats after transferring from Nebraska. The O/U is set at 1,099.5 for 12 regular-season games...
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
UNDER. It's hard to get return yards nowadays because of the number of touchbacks on kickoffs and it's hard to bank on much in the punt return game because not many guys rack up yards that way. We also know that Kentucky probably isn't going to be featuring Robinson as much of a running back. He seems to feel he was misused that way at Nebraska. That means the bulk of his yards are going to come as a receiver at Kentucky. I think he's going to have a very good season and will be a major upgrade for the offense but I'm not sure it will quite reach the number we're talking about here. I do think he will lead Kentucky in receiving yards and I'll say second in all-purpose yards on the team behind only Chris Rodriguez. Robinson's true impact will be measured by how he opens up the field for everyone else.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
OVER. I'm optimistic about this one. Give me that Kool-Aid! (Insert guzzling noises.) While this bar is admittedly set pretty high, if you've listened to the UK staff rave about Robinson since he returned home to join the program, you have to think it's a realistic goal. Last season at Nebraska, the former Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills star had 696 all-purpose yards. That was for a struggling Cornhuskers team that played only eight games and did not use Robinson on special teams with the exception of one lone punt return. Over a 12-game season, those numbers would have, on average, produced 1,044 yards. If Robinson is as good as the UK coaches said he was this spring -- and, remember, that's not a group of guys prone to hyperbole -- I could see him in the neighborhood of 700 receiving yards. A handful of end-around/jet sweep-type plays that could net him another 200 yards. The final piece of the equation is probably the biggest question mark, though. Will he be used on kickoff/punt return teams? If he is, I feel good about getting those extra 200-plus yards to put him over 1,100. UK has been very conservative under Mark Stoops when it comes to the return game. Typically, he seems to favor possession of the ball over opportunity for big plays, but I could see Robinson breaking a few this year if he gets a chance. The 1,100 figure has been topped 10 times since the 2000 season at UK, including an absurd 2,396 by Randall Cobb in 2010. I can't see any reason why Robinson can't join that club.