Penn State coach James Franklin talks Demeioun Robinson's arrival, expectations for the Maryland transfer
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State football officially welcomed Maryland transfer Demeioun Robinson into the fold on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, head coach James Franklin discussed why the program wanted to add the Gaithersburg, Md., native for the first time.
The Nittany Lions lost out to the Terrapins for the former four-star linebacker as a recruit. However, after just one season in College Park, Robinson looked to move on. He found his next, and what he hopes is a permanent, home here.
And, based on the fact that he took to social media to call it the best decision of his life just days after arriving, it felt safe to assume things were off to a good start. And, the leader of the Penn State program confirmed that is the case.
“Obviously, it’s great having him here,” Franklin said. “He tested really well the other day, which is great. And then on top of that, you know, the fact that we recruited him out of high school, more times than not if we’re going to do the transfer portal stuff, that’s what I would prefer.
“It’s not always going to work out like that, but in a short window, it’s hard to get to know the guys the way we would like to get to know them before we bring them in our locker room or on campus.”
Get to know Demeioun Robinson
Robinson committed to Maryland out of Quince Orchard High School. He played in all 13 games as a freshman and started one for head coach Mike Locksley’s program. After making 19 tackles (2.5 for loss), he entered the transfer portal in late March. Then, he visited and picked Penn State about 15 days later before arriving on Sunday.
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Penn State lists Robinson at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds. He will play defensive end for the Lions, which the program considers a position of need heading into fall camp.
“We looked at him as either a linebacker or a defensive end,” Franklin said. “There’s a bunch of guys, like Jesse Luketa, that we’ve recruited like that. He falls into that category. We’re pretty excited about him. We’re going to play him at defensive end. That was kind of discussion between him and his high school coach. Is he a 3-4 outside linebacker or defensive end? A lot of times, those guys are very similar. So we’re excited about having him here, especially at a position of need.”
What are the expectations for Robinson at Penn State?
Two things stand out about Robinson. One is that he was a highly-regarded recruit. The other is that he already owns Big Ten experience. Both of those facts mean that Penn State and its fans should expect to see him contributing early and often.
“We have very high expectations,” Franklin said. “Obviously, he played as a true freshman in this conference already. So, that helps. There’s still a lot of work to do to transition to a full-time defensive end as well as learning the system and the playbook and all those types of things. I love the kid. I’ve been super impressed with him.
“We did his official visit this weekend, although he had already committed, because timing-wise it didn’t make sense for us for his family. That went really well. I was able to spend more time with his mom, his dad, and his brothers. So that was good as well. But we have really high expectations but just like anything else, he’ll get what he earns.”
