All it takes sometimes is one phone call. That’s all it took for Jason Robinson and Pitt.
Pitt was the very first school to offer Robinson — a 5-foot-10, 170-pound four-star wide receiver from Long Beach Poly in Long Beach, California — just over two years ago, and while the two sides went their own ways for a while, it’s come full circle.
Tiquan Underwood ‘re-offered’ Robinson Tuesday after a very good phone call, and with the two hitting it off almost instantly, it’s completely changed the dynamic.
Robinson is able to see the similarities between himself and Underwood. “Me and him are real alike guys,” Robinson told PSN. “Just being able to be comfortable in our own shells.” They operate the same way and bonded immediately over their sense of style and personality. The call wasn’t even about football.
“We ain’t really even go over the game like that,” Robinson said. “We were just talking about meeting each other and getting to know each other, so that was really how our talk went. But you know he had to put a little something, he said I was electric.
“I do feel a little bit more of a connection with him, I’m not gonna lie. Sometimes I get on the phone with a coach and it be a little rah-rah, you offer and then you go off the phone, but when I got on the phone with him, it was like a real talk. And the last thing he even mentioned was the offer.”
It was Brennan Marion who first offered Robinson back during his freshman season of high school, when he still lived in Texas, and even as the contact died off a bit over the last two years, it meant a lot for Pitt to extend that first offer.
In the time since, he’s picked up offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Nevada, Notre Dame, Penn State, San Diego State, Syracuse, TCU, Utah, USC, Washington, Washington State and Western Kentucky — he was even committed to USC for a year and a half, decommitting in February.
And now with Underwood rebuilding that bond, Pitt has jumped back into the mix. He doesn’t know Underwood all that well yet, but that’s going to change.
He flew out from California Wednesday afternoon to hit up a few schools on the east coast. He’s checking out Syracuse and Notre Dame, and he will be in Pittsburgh, too.
“I’m going to Pitt this weekend, too,” Robinson said. “I think I’m going to a practice, but that’s really the one I’m looking forward to, getting to meet coach Underwood. So, that’s my highlight of this weekend. And then going to see what’s happening with the other schools, but that’s my first time going up to see (Pitt).”
It’s, obviously, going to be his first time out in Pittsburgh, and at this point, he just wants to be able to see if everything he’s heard is true. That’s what he hopes to see.
“Just really what I’m expecting from what I’ve heard,” Robinson said. “It’s like you can get everything from that school and what I’m trying to achieve, I can achieve at Pitt. When I go there and I can see that, then I’m gonna know they’re at the top. And I’ve already talked to coach Underwood, and he’s a great guy, so there’s really nothing wrong with the coaches, I just want to see the school now at this point.”
Robinson will have the chance to check out practice and connect with Underwood, and the pair will certainly check out film. His film certainly jumps off the screen, too.
In just eight games as a junior at Long Beach Poly, Robinson was the Jackrabbits’ leading receiver. He hauled in 46 receptions for 671 yards (14.6 yards per reception) and five touchdowns — showcasing crisp route running and the ability to leave opposing defensive backs in the dust.
247Sports rates him as the 349th-ranked recruit in the class (48th-ranked wide receiver and the 30th-ranked recruit from California) while On3 rates him as the 432nd-ranked recruit in the class (74th-ranked wide receiver and the 33rd-ranked recruit from California).
Rivals is even higher on Robinson, rating him as the 41st-ranked wide receiver and the 23rd-ranked recruit from California — holding a 5.8 Rivals Rating.
Robinson doesn’t have a deadline when it comes to making a commitment decision or even narrowing down a list of finalists or anything, but he’s going to keep taking his unofficial visits and go from there.
At the end of the day, he wants to find a school that is able to develop him not just as a football player but as a man. He wants to find a school that’s able to take care of him and his family. Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pitt, among others, have all stood out, but every school he talks to has done the same.
Pitt, with Underwood leading the recruiting charge, has definitely worked itself into his equation now, too.
“They for sure at the top, just being able to talk to coach like I did,” Robinson said. “That just clicked it because they weren’t even on the map at first, I ain’t even gon a lie, but now I’m really interested in going and seeing what they have to talk about.”
