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| Corey Robinson (6) enters his third year as a starter |
BY DREW CHAMPLIN | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com
TROY– Corey Robinson is healthy and primed to break significant Troy and Sun Belt career records as long as he stays healthy.
But Troy’s junior quarterback maintained that the pursuit of those records take a back seat to winning, something the Trojans couldn’t do last year very much.
But with practice for the upcoming season already underway, it’s easy to focus on what lies ahead.
“No, not at all,” said Robinson, when asked about records at Sun Belt Media Day. “I was talking to somebody about that earlier. I really don’t think about much besides winning and getting back to a bowl game.”
Troy won eight games in 2010, as Robinson started every game as a redshirt freshman. He won the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year honors and was the New Orleans Bowl’s most valuable player.
It came crashing down last year in Troy’s 3-9 season. Robinson had trouble at times connecting with receivers who were inexperienced. He also dealt with two injuries – one a foot injury which most people didn’t know about. Robinson was in a walking boot early in the season when not playing or practicing. The other was a sprained AC joint on his right (throwing) shoulder.
Now, he’s 100 percent healthy and has had two springs and one fall to gel with his receivers.
“It was definitely there,” Robinson said. “I had to get shot up (cortisone) to play. That’s all part of it. I’m a competitor just like the rest of the guys and I love winning just like everyone else and that’s all I’m looking to do.
“I can’t say it affected me a lot, I’m not one who is going to make an excuse, but obviously it took its toll throughout the season when I took a hit here or there. I’m back to 100 percent and I’m not going to worry about that.”
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said earlier this week that blame is usually placed on the head coach, then the coordinators and then the quarterback, but “our quarterback was pretty good. We just need to help him more.”
“We’ve had some down time and he’s had some tough moments, but he’s a quarterback,” Blakeney said. “He’s going to get more blame and he’s going to get more praise.
“We grade our players, especially our quarterbacks, in practice and in games. He has never failed to produce a winning grade in practice or a game. We still lose nine games. Something’s not right.”
Now, to the records. Robinson has already set Troy’s career completions record with 637. He needs 145 to break the Sun Belt record. He has thrown for 7,137 yards – fifth in the Sun Belt and third at Troy. The Troy record should be broken by the third game, as he just needs 551 to pass Brock Nutter. The SBC record will be tougher, as he needs 2,976 to pass FAU’s Rusty Smith, but is 279 behind Arkansas State senior quarterback Ryan Aplin entering the season.
Robinson has 49 career touchdowns and needs 31 to break Sim Byrd’s Troy career record. He needs 28 to set the Sun Belt record.
But one thing Robinson will say he wants to cut in half is the 15 interceptions he’s thrown each year. Not every interception is a quarterback’s fault, but Robinson took steps in the offseason to lower that number.
“Watching a lot of film, watching a lot of film and watching a lot more film,” Robinson said of his summer. “Trying to cut down on my mistakes. If I can cut down on my mistakes, that can only help us get better.
“I’ve got to lead by example and that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned with our guys at Troy, got to lead and do stuff the right way. That was the biggest thing for me moving forward as a quarterback.”
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