Commit alert! Rutgers Football gets verbal pledge from Ahmirr Robinson

The Rutgers football coaching staff continues to put work on the recruiting trail and received their second commitment of the week. The Scarlet Knights secured a verbal commitment from Wide Receiver Ahmirr Robinson of Union, New Jersey:

Rutgers was the first to offer the Union High School product, and since then he received other Power Five offers from Boston College and Pittsburgh, though 247sports is not fully updated yet. At 6’3” and 195 pounds, Robinson is a solid three-star prospect, the 37th best in New Jersey for the 2020 class according to the 247 composite which includes other sources. 247 itself has him as the 31st best player in the state. Sources have him listed anywhere from 6’1” to 6’3”, but I expect he’s closer to the latter and regardless still growing.

It’s always fun to watch wide receiver film and the first thing that jumps out is Robinson looks like a man among boys. He really came on as the lead target for the Farmers after Isaiah Stewart went down due to injury and the team still finished 8-3 in the North 2 Group 5 semifinals. You can see why because Ahmirr has the size to secure passes on simple routes then the speed to just run away from the entire defense. If the cornerback plays off him, he can secure the ball quickly and accelerate upfield faster than you’d expect someone of his height to be able to. Simply put, he is a playmaker.

He tracks the ball well in the air and is a threat to go the distance every single time he makes a reception. He runs a variety of outs, slants, flys, deep posts, and an occasional curl against zone coverage, so the basics of a decent route tree are in place. His jumping ability and ball tracking make him someone I would trust running a fade route in the end zone.

Ahmirr though is far from a finished product and moving from the high school level to the Big Ten is a huge jump. The game really looks easy to him, so he may have to find a level of resiliency he hasn’t had to show on the field before. For example despite catching the ball with his hands rather than his body, his catch radius is probably average for someone of his size, so hopefully he can expand that to an elite level as a high school senior before joining the Scarlet Knights. He also should learn to more effectively stiff arm defenders as he continues to add strength. This will also be important to avoid jams at the line of scrimmage. His ability to defeat press coverage at the high school level is more than adequate, but the college level will be much more challenging.

Despite being so raw, Robinson is at worst a solid three-star prospect who will compete hard in practice and provide depth like Carlton Agudosi did in his career. Robinson most likely will be able to contribute in the wide receiver rotation by late in his second season like a more highly regarded prospect in Andre Patton. Best case Ahmirr is a difference maker like Mark Harrison early on with the potential to be a star like Kenny Britt.

The wide receiver position at Rutgers has been a black hole the last two years, so it’s obvious the team needs to continue trying to find difference makers, especially with some height as only one receiver taller than 6’3” was in spring practice, hybrid tight end Jalen Jordan. Rutgers already has 13 scholarship receivers on the current roster, with true freshmen Isaiah Washington (6’3”) and Stanley King (6’5”) joining the program this summer. Despite the numbers, anyone who can make plays is going to get reps and since a team can use as many as four or five receivers at a time. With as few as seven seniors on the 2019 roster, Rutgers is prioritizing positions that will lose players after the 2020 season, wideout being one of those.

I like the pickup because Rutgers needs to get back to what made the program during it’s heydays in the 1960s, 1970s, and the Schiano era. During those periods, Rutgers secured players whose football skills hadn’t yet caught up to their overall athletic ability and sometimes it worked quite well. Plus, if those young men were from New Jersey and/or had a chip on their shoulder for some other reason it really helped build pride and character in the program. Fellow Union product Mike Tverdov was one of those players in the Rutgers 2017 class, so Ahmirr is well aware of the attitude and energy required to play early at the college level.

Robinson is the first wide receiver in this class. The three total verbal commits thus far each have a 3-star rating in the latest 247 composite rankings. With Evan Simon and Sofian Massoud both being quarterbacks, it’s obvious the coaching staff knows that to get better they need to upgrade the passing game.

Here are some of Robinson’s highlights:

Welcome to the banks Ahmirr!