The Cardinal Countdown: 94 Days Until Kickoff

#94 G.G. Robinson

Class: RS Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-4/298

Position: Defensive Line

Hometown: Lilburn, GA

Twitter: @GGRobinson

Thoughts: If the defense is going to make a major change in the right direction in 2019, it all starts with GG Robinson. Not to pile a season’s load worth of pressure on the young man but the defensive line last year was….challenging to watch at times. It wasn’t so much that they played horribly, it’s just that they did very little to impact the game. “Want to run up the gut? Sure, we’ll give you 3-4 yards. Want to go outside? Sure, we’ll give you 3-4 yards. Want to sit in the pocket? Sure, we’ll give you 5-6 seconds to look around”. I touched on it more than a few times last season but UofL finished with 11 sacks (126th out of 130) and 46 tackles for loss (127th), meaning they got ZE-RO pressure in the backfield. Of equal importance though is that UofL finished 130th (dead last) in opponent 3rd down conversions at 51.85%. In all three situations (3rd and short, medium, long) the Cards were one of the worst in the nation at getting a stop when they needed it. So how do you change that in one season? If you could point to one position only to aid in making that change, what would it be? The answer is easy for me. Nose tackle.

I’ve talked about my infatuation with the position on this very count down before, in fact it may rival my love for offensive lineman and special teams players, but I can give a quick recap from my post back in 2017 for those who may have missed it.

“For you faithful countdown readers you already know my stance on the nose tackle position, but just in case you’re new around these parts I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version…

‘It’s the most difficult and underappreciated position on the field’

Fill two gaps, stop the run up the middle, get pressure, call line shifts, represent your University in chicken wing eating competitions…you have to do a little of everything, and be very good at all of them.”

Robinson, a fifth year player who has been slotted in numerous positions during his tenure will finish out his career playing one of the more challenging positions on the field, but since I called him a “future Sheldon Rankins” back in 2016 I’ll stick with my guns and say the position change will do him well. I think he has the size to excel (6-4/298) and the athleticism to funnel the ball carrier into the outside gaps. While not necessarily known for his backfield presence GG can get a solid push, and putting him the middle could allow for stunting lineman or inside linebackers to get pressure on the ball. Almost anything would be an improvement from a season ago but I really think this move for Robinson will help get things going along the line and for the defense as a whole. Ball pressure and making stops will once again define 2019. This change should help.

Sweet Tweet:

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me dog” Even if my neighbor hockey pucks a steak I’m gnawing that thing like a puppy dog before I ever soak it in A1 sauce. Let’s go opposite end of the spectrum though. You got a friend coming to Louisville and they say “point me towards the best steak in town”. Where are you sending them?