4-star EDGE Brian Robinson commits to Kentucky: 'They checked every box'

A long recruiting process comes to a close for Austintown (Ohio) Westerville North four-star EDGE Brian Robinson — and it ends with the school that has been his frontrunner since the beginning.

Kentucky was Robinson’s first Power 5 offer, and now Robinson has chosen the Wildcats over schools like Maryland, Michigan, Penn State and Tennessee.

Robinson, the nation’s No. 131 overall prospect and No. 9 pass rusher, has been developing strong relationships with the Kentucky staff since before he received that offer. Those relationships helped seal the deal for the Wildcats to bring Robinson to Lexington.

“What made Kentucky the right school for me was the consistency. It never changed from day one,” Robinson told On3. “Kentucky was always one of my favorite schools, even when they had other schools crystalballed higher than Kentucky, Kentucky never treated me differently. They never wavered in their consistency. They were the first Power 5 school to offer me.

“Coach (Vince) Marrow offered me and he told me in the beginning, he said, ‘After this offer they’re all going to come. Be patient, do your due diligence, take your time. I’ll be here when you’re ready.’ And he kept that. He never pressured me, he never told me — you know I’ve had schools tell me, ‘You need to hurry up and commit before we fill the board up.’ Kentucky never told me that. They told me from day one you have a home here, you will always have a home here no matter what.”

Marrow connection played major role

Marrow has deep connections with Robinson and his family, having come from Ohio himself. That played a major part in Kentucky jumping straight to the front of Robinson’s recruitment.

“That put them in the front from the beginning,” Robinson said. “Because my dad always says he knew coach Marrow, he knew the family, he knew the integrity, he knew everything about him. So he knew if I went to Kentucky that I would be taken care of and I wouldn’t be coddled. Because he knows how coach Marrow is going to treat me, he knows what my father expects and he’s going to give me nothing less than that.

“He’s not going to coddle me, he’s not going to baby me, he’s not going to sugarcoat it, he’s not going to show me any favoritism. He’s going to give me everything that I need and the tools that I need to progress farther in football and in life.”

Robinson also connected with Brad White, others

Those relationships of course extended beyond Marrow — the school’s recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach and associate head coach. Robinson also had the chance to speak regularly with defensive coordinator Brad White and others, including on his trip to Lexington this past weekend to watch the Wildcats’ win over Florida.

“The last visit was sort of the cherry on top,” Robinson said. “I think what tilted the scales was coach Brad White. Me and coach Brad White share a connection, me and coach Marrow share a connection, me and coach (Anwar Stewart) share a connection and me and coach (Mark) Stoops share a connection.

“But coach Brad White, he didn’t recruit me. He kept telling me everything that he thought I was, he kept telling me everything that he thought I needed to work on. He would communicate with me and not talk about football, he would talk about character, he would talk about life, he would talk about prayer, he would talk about God. And that was real important to me. He didn’t give me the bells and whistles. You know, I’m not the type of young man that has to be pacified or who has to be told, ‘Brian you’re great, you’re great, you’re great.’ I’m the guy who wants you to tell me everything that I did wrong so I can work on it. I have tough skin.”

Kentucky ‘felt more like home’

Having those relationships was important to Robinson, especially when he recognized the business-like approach that so many other schools use to approach the recruitment process. That was different at Kentucky, which Robinson said felt more like home than any other school.

“Everything about it fits me because it’s a home, family atmosphere,” Robinson said. “It’s not a business atmosphere. Kentucky is the only university that I walk on and I feel at home. I don’t feel like I’m a guest, I don’t feel like I’m a visitor, I don’t feel like I’m a recruit, I don’t feel like I’m a prospect. Every single time I was on the campus at the University of Kentucky, I felt like I was at home.”

What really drew Robinson in with Kentucky was the school’s willingness to show Robinson everything he wanted about both the program and the campus.

“Everything that I asked for, they showed me,” Robinson said. “I had a checklist in the beginning of my recruiting process from education all the way to housing. They checked every box. There’s some colleges that I went to that I never got to see housing, and when I asked about it, it was made like it wasn’t a big deal. And the reason it was a big deal for me is because strength and conditioning, nutrition and home is where I spend most of my time.

“I have a certain amount of time I can spend with a strength and conditioning coach, I have a certain amount of time I can spend with a position coach. I have a certain amount of time I can spend with other coaches. Home, strength and conditioning and nutrition is where I spend most of my time, so those are the three most important things to me.”

DL production impressed Robinson

As for Robinson’s future on the football field, the defensive line production by the Wildcats is nothing to sneeze at. Kentucky has a reputation for developing NFL-caliber defensive players, and Robinson was able to see that firsthand throughout this process.

“Oh it was great,” Robinson said about Kentucky’s defensive line development. “Because I got to talk to Josh Paschal before he went to the pros. I got to talk to (Josh) Allen before he went to the pros, and they told me — they were transparent about their story and how they grew at Kentucky. So that was a big motivator.”