Recruiting impact: New DBs coach Robinson is a true ace recruiter — especially in Florida

The outpouring from the South Florida high school football community was near unanimous when the Miami Hurricanes announced they were hiring Travaris Robinson on Saturday.

Everyone is excited about Miami’s new defensive backs coach.

“His familiarity in this area and charismatic recruiting style have contributed to his ability to successfully commit some of the most prolific players from South Florida,” Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said in a text message. “T. Rob is Miami raised, so I’m sure he’s grateful and looking forward to being a part of The U.”

Miami Central coach Roland Smith said he’s excited, too. Miami Gardens Norland coach Daryle Heidelburg expressed similar feelings to The Athletic. Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn told the same to 247Sports.com.

All four have sent at least one player to go play for Robinson since 2015. Often, the Hurricanes were interested in those players, too, and Robinson, who graduated from Miami Coral Park in 1999 and then played for the Auburn Tigers, beat them out.

Robinson’s addition fits with a clear philosophy coach Manny Diaz is establishing in Coral Gables. Recruiting ability is paramount and former cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph struggled to land elite defensive backs from South Florida.

Robinson’s track record in this area is one of the best in the nation, but his success hasn’t only come only with Florida defensive backs. He has also helped land five-star recruits from as far away as Washington and as disparate a position as defensive tackle.

Robinson’s recruiting success at Florida

Dating to 2013 when he was cornerbacks coach for the Florida Gators, Robinson has been responsible for signing 27 blue-chip recruits as either the primary or secondary recruiter, according to 247Sports. While recruiter data doesn’t go back to the start of his tenure at Florida in 2011, the Gators also signed four blue-chip defensive backs in the Class of 2011 —including two from South Florida — and two in the Class of 2012, plus a four-star guard from Boynton Beach. In the past decade, it’s fair to conclude he has played a part in landing at least 30 blue-chip prospects, mostly in the secondary.

His haul for the Class of 2014 in Gainesville is probably his best. He was the secondary recruiter for five-star cornerback Teez Taylor and the secondary recruiter for four-star Miami Booker T. Washington athlete Treon Harris, who wound up starting 15 games at quarterback for the Gators. He landed top-200 wide receiver J.C. Jackson out of Immokalee — he moved to cornerback and leads the NFL in interceptions since the start of 2019 — and top-200 Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna defensive tackle Khairi Clark. Robinson rounded out the 2014 recruiting class by landing four-star cornerback Duke Dawson, three-star Homestead South Dade wide receiver C.J. Worton and three-star Davie University School cornerback Quincy Wilson, who became a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The year before, Robinson’s class was loaded, too. He signed five-star cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who went on to be an All-American and first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and top-200 safety Keanu Neal, who went to the 2018 Pro Bowl. He was also responsible for bringing four-star St. Thomas Aquinas running back Jordan Scarlett to Florida in the Class of 2015 even after Robinson left to become the Auburn’s defensive backs coach.

Robinson at Auburn, South Carolina

In his lone season with the Tigers, Robinson lured three in-state blue-chip defensive backs and a fourth defensive back from Hialeah American. Miami Westminster Christian athlete Tim Irvin was the jewel of his 2015 class, which also included Jacksonville Ed White cornerback Javaris Davis and Norland cornerback Carlton Davis, who became a second-round pick and is now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ top corner. American cornerback Jeremiah Dinson rounded out the class.

In his five years with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Robinson became their true ace recruiter.

So far, Hargreaves is the only first-round pick Robinson has produced, but South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn is a likely first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and Gamecocks defensive tackle Jordan Burch, whom Robinson signed as a top-10 recruit in the Class of 2020, could also be a future first-rounder. From 2016 to 2020, Robinson landed eight blue-chip players, including Burch, top-100 cornerback Jamyest Williams and top-200 cornerback Cam Smith.

Even in Columbia, Robinson kept his Miami roots intact. In the Class of 2016, he landed four-star Central defensive end Keir Thomas and three-star Fort Lauderdale Dillard defensive end Aaron Thompson. In the Class of 2018, he beat out the Hurricanes for four-star Deerfield Beach outside linebacker Rosendo Louis and then he landed two players from St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class of 2019: three-star center Vincent Murphy and three-star outside linebacker Jahmar Brown, again beating out Miami for Brown.

Rumph did have some recruiting wins in his time as cornerbacks coach — Al Blades Jr. was a top-100 recruit, DJ Ivey committed as a three-star recruit and rose to four-star status, and Te’Cory Couch, Christian Williams and Isaiah Dunson were all blue-chip prospects with Southeastern Conference interest — but Robinson’s track record is far superior.

In the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship, six of the starting defensive backs were from Florida, including four from the Miami area for the Alabama Crimson Tide. With Robinson in the fold, the Hurricanes hope they’ll stop whiffing.