Perhaps Syracuse can attribute banquet chicken to landing a starting quarterback. It’s a roundabout connection, but Andrew Robinson was at a postseason banquet after his sophomore season when his high school football coach, coincidentally named Jay Robinson, told his quarterback he had a shot of playing major college football.

Drawn to the lure of standing behind center on Saturdays and a college scholarship, Andrew Robinson, a quarterback from Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore, who officially signed with Syracuse on Wednesday, went to work. He learned the idiosyncrasies of the position and spent more time lifting dumbbells than watching ‘Saved by the Bell.’

It earned Robinson status as one of the nation’s top high school quarterbacks, a remarkable feat considering he didn’t play competitive football until high school. Next season, he’ll come to SU to play for another Robinson – Greg.

Surname aside, Andrew Robinson is a serious contender to start at quarterback for the Orange, which is in serious need of an offensive injection after struggling to a 1-10 season. It would be another milestone in the quarterback’s rapid ascension.

‘I want to play when I’m ready to play, whether it’s the first game or last game or anywhere between,’ Robinson said. ‘Whenever they want to play me is fine with me. If I’m not the best, then I’m probably not going to play. They’ll play who will give them to best chance to win.’

But even with the humble approach, Robinson recognizes the rare opportunity. He said playing early was a factor in his decision to attend Syracuse. Greg Robinson said the Orange identified three quarterbacks the staff liked and extended offers. When Andrew Robinson committed early, the Orange committed to him.

It makes Robinson the fourth quarterback in the mix of green practice jerseys, joining Perry Patterson, Joe Fields and Matt Hale. Andrew Robinson said most other programs feature five or six quarterbacks.

Robinson also noted Syracuse’s pro-style offense and a strong relationship with the coaching staff as reasons to don orange and blue when SU opens at Wake Forest next season. One of those coaches, former quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite, has since departed the Orange to become the offensive coordinator at Rice. Robinson and Applewhite developed a strong rapport during the recruitment process and Robinson admitted he was disappointed he won’t play for the former Texas standout. He was optimistic, though, about the prospects of a similarly strong relationship with new offensive coordinator Brian White. (Coincidentally, White’s former employer, Wisconsin, was the runner-up for Robinson’s services.)

When Applewhite was at Texas, he was known perhaps more for his moxie and his leadership than his passing records. Robinson, when describing his quarterbacking arsenal, cited those leadership qualities and his understanding of the game in the same breath as the physical tools – size (he’s listed at 6-foot-2) and arm strength (Robinson is a former baseball pitcher). It’s those intangibles that Jay Robinson – a former college coach at Towson (Md.) and Maryland – raves about.

‘Based on how he answers some tough questions, you can tell he’s a very mature guy for his age,’ Jay Robinson said. ‘He has great leadership skills; they’re above and beyond what you’d expect. His has all the intangibles. You can tell right away by the way he communicates with his teammates and coaches.’

But a quarterback can have the intangibles of Tom Brady and it won’t help him if he plays like Greg Brady. And when practice starts in late summer, Robinson will have to prove he can play. But after only four seasons of organized football (Robinson’s mother is friends with a doctor who advised the family to hold their strong-armed son off the field until high school), Robinson’s skills continue to develop.

‘I think he is just scratching the surface,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘I think he has a lot of qualities. He’s intelligent. He has a lot of qualities that fit what we’re looking for at the quarterback position. The quarterback position in our offense is like a point guard in basketball. He has to deliver the mail. He has to make others look better.’

Jay Robinson said the family’s decision to hold Andrew Robinson out until high school benefited the quarterback because he didn’t develop poor habits at a young age. Rather, he was a fresh slate with a strong arm and savvy mind, and Jay Robinson and Calvert Hall quarterbacks coach Rick Zentz molded Robinson into a Division I talent.

Zentz’s first exposure to Robinson was at Calvert Hall’s football camp before Robinson’s sophomore season. Robinson was slated to be the backup, and after watching him throw, Zentz couldn’t figure out why he was second-string.

‘After the third day, I was looking at this big, gangly, raw sophomore and wondering, ‘Why isn’t he starting over this other guy?” Zentz said. ‘So we worked at it. We started with footwork, weight shift, ball grip, follow through – the small mechanical parts. Once you take care of small things, the big thing envelops you.’

Zentz also pointed out Robinson’s scrambling ability, going as far as calling him Calvert Hall’s ‘best rusher.’ As Robinson’s high school career progressed, Zentz was awed by how quick a learner Robinson was. In Robinson’s senior season, Zentz realized how far Robinson came from when they first met, particularly in instinctively going through his reads rather than throwing the ball to a predetermined receiver.

‘Football was new to me,’ Robinson said. ‘I played in the backyard and stuff, but as far as learning an offense and all that, football was more complex than baseball and basketball. But you get used to it. I finally picked up my learning curve. There’s really no better way to learn how to play the game than with game experience.’

The game experience paid off. Jay Robinson trusted the sophomore quarterback and had a starter for the next two and a half seasons. But that sophomore season showed the coach all he needed to see to know that Andrew Robinson could play at a school like Syracuse. And at the end-of-season banquet, he shared his opinion with the Robinson family. The rest, as Orange fans might find out in September, is history.

‘To what level will he be at when he comes in here? I don’t know that,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘I know this – he is very diligent about wanting to get started. He’s chomping at the bit to try to get us to give him bits and pieces so he can get going.’

Published on February 2, 2006 at 12:00 pm