Tennessee football makes cut for 2023 California RB Roderick Robinson II
For at least the next two years, Tennessee football appears to be set at running back with Jabari Small, Jaylen Wright and Josh Heupel’s two new signees in the Vols’ 2022 recruiting class. However, they need to keep reloading there, and Heupel has UT trending for a 2023 Southern California prospect at the position.
Roderick Robinson II, who comes out of Lincoln High School in San Diego, Calif., has the Vols in his top six. Standing at 6’1″ and weighing in the range of 220 to 235 pounds, Robinson is a three-star on Rivals and ESPN but a four-star on 247Sports and On3.
Joining Tennessee football on Robinson’s list are the Oregon Ducks, Cal Golden Bears, UCLA Bruins, Arizona Wildcats and Auburn Tigers. He announced the schools with a video showing all their logos Saturday night on Twitter.
I want to thank every coach that has recruited me throughout this entire process. It is truly a blessing to have been offered by so many great Universities. Here is my final 6. @GregBiggins @THEHIVEFB @ChadSimmons_ @adamgorney @brycewell1904 @CoachDC8 @jvatheformula pic.twitter.com/2N1JK9B7F9
— Roderick Robinson II (@rodrob204) May 8, 2022
Dee Beckwith and Tee Hodge transferring this past year leaves Len’Neth Whitehead as the only returning power back to the Vols. Whitehead emerged late last year, particularly as Heupel went more by-committee after Tiyon Evans got banged up and then hit the transfer portal.
Despite his offensive system based on tempo and spreading out the field, Heupel clearly likes to use the run a lot, and he also uses power backs. Given the way the Vols struggled in short-yardage situations last year, he likely wants more of them.
Anyway, that’s where Robinson comes in. His size makes it pretty clear he’s a power back who could provide significant depth. Both commitments in 2022 are either standard running backs or all-purpose backs, but neither are true power backs, an overlooked part of today’s game. Robinson could be that.
Currently, there are no favorites to land Robinson on the Rivals Future Cast, and there are no 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions. On3 had the USC Trojans as the plurality favorite, but they didn’t make the cut. Arizona and Oregon are after that.
Next. Top five 2023 out-of-state recruits for Vols to pursue. dark
However, Tennessee football is the majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast and tied with Auburn as a close third to Oregon in On3’s rankings. As a result, it’s safe to say the Vols are strongly in play, so they should definitely keep pursuing him.