CoachTressel.com
Brian Robiskie Feature
Monday, October 02, 2006 By Marcus Hartman
Courtesy of Buckeye Sports Bulletin
The saying goes that, ?Everything is bigger in Texas,? but that doesn?t seem to be how Brian Robiskie sees it.
A sophomore wide receiver for Ohio State, Robiskie had what could be perceived as a breakout performance Sept. 9 when he hauled in three passes for 28 yards as No. 1 Ohio State downed No. 2 Texas.
Unfazed by the loud, hostile crowd, big stage and high stakes (even for an early-season game), Robiskie even shook off a dropped pass to come back and make a crucial third-down reception that kept alive Ohio State?s final drive, setting up Antonio Pittman?s game-clinching touchdown run that set the final margin of 24-7.
The game was the first chance for the Cleveland native to flash his talents to a prime-time national television audience, but aside from a few calls and text messages from friends he said he ?thought had lost my number,? the Chagrin Falls High School grad went about business as usual the following week.
That?s an attitude his father, Terry, has worked to instill in him all his life. And as the wide receivers coach for the Cleveland Browns and a veteran of more than 20 years on NFL sidelines, Terry knows a thing or two about life and catching the football.
No surprise then what the father emphasized when the two talked after the Texas game.
?The best thing he told me (I did) was on that third-down catch, just getting my pads low, getting that first down, but immediately after that he reminded me of that ball I dropped and told me what I needed to be doing to catch that one,? the younger Robiskie said.
Terry did not dispute that account of the story, but he was sure to emphasize the positive after the teachable moment was taken care of. As an example of overcoming earlier adversity, he mentioned a 1998 NFC Wildcard Playoff game, in which then-49ers receiver Terrell Owens dropped several passes early but came through with an ultra-clutch catch over the middle in the final seconds for the game-winning score against Green Bay, even as he was drilled by a linebacker about the same time the ball arrived.
?It?s not all-important when you drop one ? it?s how you come back after you drop one,? Terry Robiskie said.
He pointed out that the play before Brian?s third-down catch, the same pass pattern was called. Although Buckeye quarterback Troy Smith?s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage by a defensive lineman, the elder Robiskie said the television camera caught Ohio State coach Jim Tressel roll his index finger in a circular motion, usually a signal to repeat the same play, which is what Smith did.
?I thought it was a great sign of confidence Coach Tressel had in coming back to him,? Terry said.
That is a faith in the young receiver shared by Smith, the senior quarterback, who said he had encouraging words for Brian the night of the game and praise for him in the week to follow.
?I told him not for one second to think that we're not going to continue to throw him the ball,? Smith said. ?I think any player that they put on the field, I have to be able to show some kind of trust in. I don't think they would put someone on the field who they as a staff wouldn't trust, and of course I do trust Brian Robiskie in that I know that he knows the plays and I know that if you put him in the situation to make a play and catch a ball he will do it, he will bring it in for you. He's a pure receiver.?
That assessment is no surprise for the son of a receivers coach, but it could catch most off guard to learn that the younger Robiskie had to wait longer than many young players to get his first taste of action on the gridiron.
Terry would not let his son play football until junior high, although the youngster wanted to play years before.
The father explained his decision was motivated both by his desire for his son?s body to develop more to be ready to withstand the pounding of the game and also by his feeling that some youth coaches don?t prepare their kids to learn the game in the right way.
While not wanting to slight those individuals who volunteer to work with young players, he said when they get overzealous about winning, a negative experience can ensue for the kids.
?Guys out there coaching Little League teams try to prove they?re a coach, but at a very early age there are certain ways you treat little kids and go about teaching them about how to play the game,? Terry Robiskie said. ?It?s not about how many tackles or how many catches you make, it?s about learning the right technique to do those things: how to make tackles, how to run the ball, catch the ball and throw the ball as opposed to yelling at him when he does it wrong when you didn?t teach him the right way to do it in the beginning.?
Eventually the younger Robiskie grew to 6-3 and began drawing scholarship interest from major colleges, but he was not one of the more ballyhooed recruits in his 2004 signing class.
Last year he impressed the coaches enough to earn a spot on special teams and played in all 12 games. He caught one pass, a 13-yarder in week three against San Diego State.
Despite getting his feet wet that first year on campus, Robiskie was not part of the buzz surrounding the high-powered offense that figured to return mostly intact for the 2006 season.
With Heisman Trophy candidate Ted Ginn Jr., two-time Michigan game hero Anthony Gonzalez and beefy fifth-year senior Roy Hall back at the wide receiver position, Robiskie and the other young receivers returning were mostly afterthoughts to OSU fans.
That began to change during spring practice, however, when he and classmate Brian Hartline ? who redshirted in 2005 ? began turning heads with their improved play.
The pair turned in two of the top three receiving performances in the spring game, including Robiskie?s three catches for 59 yards, and when Hall severely sprained an ankle late in fall camp, both Robiskie and Hartline got their chances to get on the field.
Hartline caught the first pass of the season, a 32-yarder from Smith in the opener, but it was Robiskie who came alive on the bigger stage of Texas.
Not that he was impressed.
?That?s a lot of fun, but growing up in the atmosphere that I?ve been in, I think that obviously I?ve been in a lot of other people?s stadiums,? Brian Robiskie said. ?I?ve seen what they?re like when you?re not in your own. I?ve never played in one, but I?m kind of used to it.
?We know that that was just another game. As big as it was, that was game two and we?ve got a lot of other games ahead of us. We?ve got to keep getting better every week if we want to achieve our goals of getting to the national championship.?
That perspective also deterred Robiskie from giving any second thought to the dropped pass against the Longhorns. When asked if he was embarrassed about the miscue, he replied, ?Not really. You don?t really have time. You?ve got to forget about it because you know the very next play they might be coming back to you.?
To hear him and his teammates tell it, the season is just following a natural arc for a player with the pedigree and makeup of Robiskie.
?He, since he?s been here, has always been a very polished receiver,? Gonzalez said. ?I think a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that he?s a coach?s son, particularly a receivers coach?s son. On top of that, he?s one of the hardest workers in the weight room, on the field, things like that, and that?s rare for a young guy, to come in and already have that work ethic.?
Another of Robiskie?s classmates, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, faces Robiskie in practice and had a similar take on the development of all of Ohio State?s young receivers.
?I just think their practices are starting to show on the field,? Jenkins said. ?Brian, especially, made strides from spring ball to now. Route-running, catching the ball ? everything. All the techniques of being a receiver, he?s started to get better at and I think it?s starting to show.?
Both Robiskies confirmed that the importance of off-field preparation, and good behavior has been pounded home for quite some time.
?My dad didn?t have me playing football early on, but I think later on in high school he just would sit me down and tell me about the other things, the other side of football,? Robiskie said, ?the running and the workouts and especially the film. Studying the game. I think that studying the game is just as important as getting yourself physically ready.?
And what does his father say now that his son?s hard work has led to his getting on the field with the offense in important times?
?He just keeps telling me to keep working hard and don?t forget about the little things: keep blocking, running after the catch and stuff like that,? he said.
?He?s been trying to keep me levelheaded.?
Although both said they don?t get to talk very regularly during the football season because of their mutually busy schedules, father calls son at least once a day, even if he gets finished with his work after his son should be in bed.
?I just tell him I love him or leave a message letting him know I love him,? Terry said.
When they do find time for conversation, the topic is not usually football. ?I ask about, ?How was class?? and ?Do you have a girlfriend yet?? Mostly daily things in life,? Terry said.
He was quick to credit the OSU coaching staff, including Tressel and receivers coach Darrell Hazell, with his son?s improvement on the field and as a young man since his arrival in Columbus.
?Coach Hazell is doing a phenomenal job with him,? Terry said. ?The whole situation is just phenomenal, the situation of him being down there with Coach Tressel and the success they?ve had in the past.?
The opportunity to be around both coaches and players such as receiver Santonio Holmes, Bobby Carpenter and A.J. Hawk ? all former Ohio State stars now in the NFL ? is extremely beneficial to younger players such as his son, Terry Robiskie said.
?With Coach Hazell, it?s not necessarily just as position coach but also being an adult image for him, someone he can talk to and visit with and talk to him about things he can?t talk to me about, like this girlfriend thing,? the elder Robiskie added.
?I?m always on him about that but he won?t come and talk to me about it.?
Social-life secrets aside, the father said he?s worked hard to instill great values in his son and he feels as if that has paid off thus far.
?That was just class 1-A for us. Handle your life off the field because it doesn?t make a difference what you do on the field because if you screw up off the field that?s all gone,? he said.
?He?s been good with that class. That?s one I?m scared to give him an ?A? right now because then they screw up and make a ?C,? but he?s passing that class with an ?A? right now.?
