What Mark Richt saw in UGA 5-star target Duce Robinson after coaching him in all-star game

Duce Robinson arrived late to practices for the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii two weeks ago.

The five-star tight end from Pinnacle High School in Phoenix had a good reason. He was holding a private workout for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodger Stadium.

Mark Richt, the former Georgia football coach, was heading up Team Mauka that week in Honololu and spoke to the 6-foot-6, 225-pound Robinson about what position he would play after he arrived.

“He was like, ‘Coach, I’ll play any position you want, it’s no big deal,’” Richt said this week. “He’s kind of a humble kid in my opinion. Big, tall, athletic kid that can run like a receiver and block like a tight end. Just a very talented guy that seemed like a super kid.”

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Georgia and Southern Cal were believed to be the favorites to land Robinson with Oregon and Texas also in the mix.

The Bulldogs are the pick for all seven 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions made for the nation’s No. 1 rated tight end. He was expected to announce his choice on Wednesday, but 247Sports Monday cited multiple sources saying it’s uncertain about whether he will make a decision on what’s the start of the second signing period.

Pinnacle football coach Dana Zupke said via text on Monday afternoon to the Athens Banner-Herald he didn’t know if Robinson would sign Wednesday.

Charlie Wilde, who has coached Robinson for four seasons on the Pinnacle basketball team where he’s received second-team all-region honors, calls him a “great leader who just brings a different energy to our team and our practices.”

Georgia is also in the mix for one of the other top six uncommitted prospects in Folsom, Calif. four-star tight end Walker Lyons who is also considering Utah and Stanford.

Robinson ended up playing wide receiver in the game in the all-star game in Hawaii because of the way the roster looked, Richt said, and led his team with 4 catches for 87 yards including a long catch on the outside to set up a field goal.

“We thought we could get him the ball maybe a little bit better if he was a receiver,” Richt said.

Robinson, an outfielder, is ranked as the No. 123rd prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft by Baseball America. His father told Rivals’ Adam Gorney in an interview posted on YouTube that it’s unlikely his son would skip college football and only play pro baseball.

He would like to play both college football and college baseball.

Robinson had 84 catches for 1,614 yards and 14 touchdowns this season for Pinnacle on the gridiron.

“He’s impressive in terms of the length and height he brings to the position,” said Craig Haubert, ESPN’s college football national recruiting coordinator, who saw Robinson at the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando. “There’s no question when this guy walks in the room, he looks the part.”

Robinson made it to the finals that week in a competition for high pointing the ball.

“In practice, he kind of looked comfortable putting his hand on the ground and doing some of those things as well,” Haubert said. “He’s a legit receiving threat because he can run and knows how to use his length and has great body control.”

On the basketball team, Robinson plays center off the bench this season because he’s only available about half the season due to other sport obligations.

“He’s just such an athlete,” said Wilde, who coached former Oklahoma and now South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler in basketball. “He wants to win at a high level. Those athletic kids want to compete at the highest level no matter what the sport. His intelligence, his understanding of all three different sports makes him that much better than others that try to do it.”

His father, Dominic, played wide receiver and defensive back at Florida State from 2001-04 after Richt became Georgia coach. Mother Mary Beth swam at Florida.

Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley was in the Pinnacle High gym during basketball practice last week, Wilde said.

Hartley coached under Richt at Miami and Georgia.

“He talked really highly of Georgia,” Richt said. “He really likes Coach Hartley. The whole family does. We talked about the fact that I was there.”

Georgia returns Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers, but lost Darnell Washington, a likely NFL first-round draft pick.

“He’ll have full faith, full confidence that the system will be able to showcase what he can do,” Richt said. “You add the winning and it’s tough to beat, really. Coach Hartley is a really outstanding recruiter. He recruited great tight ends at Miami, he recruited great tight ends at Georgia.”

Robinson would have a chance to be another big-time prospect added to the room.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: The latest on Georgia football 5-star tight end target Duce Robinson