Assistant Coach Cory Robinson Leaves Rutgers For Maryland

When Maryland hired new head coach Mike Locksley last week, it was fair to worry that he would be coming for Baltimore area native Cory Robinson. The cornerbacks coach and pass game coordinator just finished his first season at Rutgers, but worked at Maryland under Locksley in 2015 and coached high school football in the Baltimore area for several years prior. InsideMDSports.com first reported that Robinson was already at Maryland and had begun recruiting for them.

Robinson was viewed as a good hire by Rutgers head coach Chris Ash last offseason, who previously coached at Toledo and Temple. He has strong recruiting connections in Maryland and was establishing himself in South Jersey as well. He was also one of the younger coaches on the staff and is considered to have a bright future in football.

While losing him to a division rival is not a good thing, it’s hard to blame Ash in not being able to retain Robinson, who had one more year left on his contract. It’s a relationship business and Robinson had strong ties to Locksley and Maryland.

Robinson helped develop true freshman Avery Young this past season and whoever replaces him will also have former Ohio State commit Tre Avery in the fold.

James Kratch of NJ Advance Media has more info here, including the fact that Rutgers now has just three assistants under contract for next season, including offensive coordinator John McNulty, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Noah Joseph, as well as defensive line coach Corey Brown. Per Kratch, six assistants and strength coach Kenny Parker are under contracts set to expire in August before training camp begins. Who Ash decides to keep and ultimately replace remains to be seen, but any changes from his end with the staff won’t take place until after the early signing period concludes (Dec 19-21).

UPDATE: A report on 12/12 indicates former assistant Henry Baker is returning to replace Robinson, who replaced him last year.