Standing tall for De La Salle
He came up 91 yards short of breaking the De La Salle-Concord school record for rushing last year with 2,012 to go along with 25 touchdowns.
But don’t mention “short” to Kairee Robinson.
The 5-foot-8, 195-pound senior running back appears to have all the makings of a top recruit — especially considering where he’s been groomed.
The lack of height, though, apparently has scared off major college programs. Robinson has only two FBS offers — from San Jose State and Air Force — along with others from Adams State and Howard.
Robinson, an upbeat, easygoing sort according to his coaches, isn’t stressed about his recruiting situation. Besides, he has Washington, D.C., power St. John’s — ranked 18th in the country by USA Today — to focus on.
The Spartans, ranked 13th nationally by MaxPreps, host the ESPN-televised game at 8 p.m. Friday.
“It is what it is,” Robinson said. “I can’t control my height. Just my effort.”
With 226 attempts in 12 games, Robinson largely shouldered the Spartans’ offense last season. He averaged 8.9 yards per carry and 26.4 yards on his eight catches. His 26 touchdowns represented almost half of De La Salle’s 60.
Had he played all 13 games — he missed 1½ because of injury — he probably would have broken the De La Salle season mark of 2,102 yards set by Pepe Vitale in 2012.
Robinson “was pretty much all of our offense,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “Probably too much. He won’t be carrying the load like that this year.”
Alumbaugh paused. “Well, not unless we really need him.”
Like Friday. St. John’s is loaded with Division I talent, including 6-4, 210-pound quarterback Kevin Doyle and 5-10, 180-pound junior tailback Keilan Robinson, who has offers from Michigan State, North Carolina and Maryland.
Add Virginia Tech-bound defensive tackle Cam Goode (5-11, 315), guard Josh Jefferson (6-2, 295) and Virginia-bound cornerback D.J. Brown (6-1, 180), and De La Salle, which opened with a 42-7 win at Amador Valley-Pleasanton, will be more than tested.
“St. John’s is a handful,” Alumbaugh said. “They got guys at every spot. That quarterback can really throw it and (Keilan Robinson) can really run it. We’re going to have to have our ‘A’ game.”
That means Kairee Robinson might not leave the field.
Alumbaugh may not plan to run him as much this season — he had just six carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns last week — but he’ll probably play more defense at safety, cornerback and outside linebacker.
“He’s just a really good football player,” Alumbaugh said. “He’s so versatile. He’s like Antoine Custer (All-Metro 2015, now at Eastern Washington) in that way.”
Robinson is thicker than Custer and stronger. He’s built very similarly to former Spartan, UCLA and NFL standout Maurice Jones-Drew, who himself made the comparison to Robinson. Jones-Drew occasional helps coach the Spartans.
“Yeah, I heard that,” Robinson said. “That meant a lot to me. I’d love to follow his path.”
Robinson is also popular among his teammates, including USC-bound 6-2, 295-pound defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa, who would love to have Robinson as a college teammate.
“I think he’s the best running back in the state,” Letuligasenoa said. “I’m not saying that because we’re on the same team. He’s just that good.”