Penn State adds another edge rusher in McDonogh prospect Mason Robinson
Penn State picked up its second commitment in as many days Tuesday, this time from McDonogh defensive end Mason Robinson. A three-star prospect from Baltimore, Robinson surprised many back in May when he committed to Northwestern following an official visit. At the time, Penn State was considered a heavy favorite, with Robinson visiting University Park four times in the span of 10 months.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge rusher held firm with that commitment throughout the fall, but following a 1-11 season for the Wildcats, head coach Pat Fitzgerald was forced to make changes to his coaching staff, firing both his defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. That decision gave Robinson a reason to look around, opening the door for Penn State. James Franklin and his staff jumped at the opportunity, visiting with Robinson at his school and home within a few days. That led to an official visit this past weekend.
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After thinking it over for a few days, plus an in-home visit with Franklin last night, Robinson officially ended his recruitment Tuesday at noon.
“I’ve been coming up to Penn State since I was young. I’ll never forget coming up there for my first camp my eighth grade year,” Robinson said. “Ever since then, Penn State has always been there. It’s so close to home, too, and there’s just nothing like it.
“The atmosphere on game day is incredible, but it’s all the support you receive. The alumni, the former players, everyone is behind the team. The coaches feel like family, too. I just can’t pass it up.”
Throughout his recruitment, Robinson earned nearly two dozen scholarship offers. Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee were among the most notable schools. However, his top five was Penn State, Northwestern, Pitt, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
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In recent weeks, Brent Pry and his staff at Virginia Tech once again made a push, hoping to get Robinson on campus this upcoming weekend for an official visit. Marcus Freeman and his staff at Notre Dame also entered the race, extending an offer to Robinson last Friday, Dec. 9. In the end though, he knew Penn State was the right school.
Robinson is also coming off a very impressive senior season, totaling 83 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He’s the fifth prospect to join Penn State from McDonogh over the last five years, joining linebacker Curtis Jacobs, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and defensive tackles PJ Mustipher and D’von Ellies.
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Robinson added that the more he’s learned about Manny Diaz’s defense, the more intrigued he became.
“When I was talking to Coach Diaz, he was explaining to me that he wants his defensive linemen always going vertical,” Robinson said. “I’ve always been told to keep contain and things like that, but he was saying that doesn’t matter in their defense because their linebackers run a 4.4 [40-yard dash]. Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs can fill the gap like that, so that frees up the defensive ends to get up field and get after the quarterback and that’s a lot of fun. He wants us make plays. That’s what anyone at my position wants to hear.”
According to the On3 Consensus, Robinson holds a three-star rating. He’s the 12th-ranked player in Maryland and No. 631 nationally. Penn State remains at No. 14 overall in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings.
