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ETSU Safety Tyree Robinson is Being Slighted Big Time
Robinson will be the best player on either team when the Buccaneers play Vanderbilt on Saturday. And yet he’s not getting the recognition he deserves.
HERO Sports has named senior safety Tyree Robinson to their third-team preseason FCS All-American team.
Sounds like a nice honor except for one thing; it’s a slight of his skills.
HERO Sports selects five defensive backs for their defensive “teams (first-team, second-team, etc.)” and there aren’t 10 defensive backs in the FCS better than Robinson.
Robinson has been, unquestionably, the best player ETSU football has had since the reinstatement of the program in 2015. He is the most promising pro prospect the program has had since Gerald Sensabaugh, and though he is not the sole reason for their success, the Buccaneers aren’t the Southern Conference co-champion in 2018 or 5–2 last season without him.
Wonder why ETSU followed up their 8–4 2018 season with a disappointing 3–9 in 2019? Blame quarterback woes all you want, but don’t discount the absence of Robinson in more than four games.
In 2018 Robinson single-handedly defeated The Citadel with two interceptions, including a game-clinching pick-six in the final two minutes of a 26–23 victory in Charleston.
The following season, with Robinson off the field with injury, ETSU gave up a 73-yard touchdown reception to the Bulldogs’ Raleigh Webb, not the fastest wide receiver in the SoCon, in the final moments of a 31–27 loss to The Citadel.
With Robinson, the Buccaneers win their first conference championship in 37 seasons. Without Robinson, they lose to a team that loses their next 11 straight games.
Doesn’t this sound like one of the 10 best defensive backs in the FCS to you?
Granted, “preseason All-American” could be described as a less-than-prestigious award. It is akin to a racehorse being the Kentucky Derby favorite, rather than the winner of the actual race.
