Hearing praise from your coaches is always a good thing. But when players make it a point to talk about the impressive play of rookie Cam Robinson, the rookie tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars, it means the Alabama product is doing something right.
“Cam’s been doing a good job,” fourth-year lineman Brandon Linder said last week. “All he wants to do is get better.
per Mike Kaye of First Coast News here in Jacksonville. “He’s coming out every day, listening to the older guys and stuff like that. He’s been showing good strides.”
Those strides will need to continue once Robinson comes back to Jacksonville Jaguars training camp. The news that Branden Albert will be in attendance for the first time in North Florida means there is a competition on the left side of the offensive line. Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell eluded to it after making Robinson the team’s second round pick in April.
There is no missing Robinson on the field. At 6-foot-6 and 326 pounds, he has shown a willingness to do what is asked of him by the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff and appears to be a quick study. That’s vital since the team will need to do a better job of run blocking and protecting quarterback Blake Bortles this season.
With competition comes the questions of who starts and who moves to a back-up role. There has been some talk, especially before and right after Robinson was chosen, that the team had plans to move him inside. Now, for the moment, it appears tackle will be the position Robinson and the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff focuses on.
Coming from a program like Alabama, Robinson should be able to adjust to the NFL style of play. He was part of the national championship team in 2015 and was a three-time SEC Champion (2014, 2015, 2016) while playing for the Crimson Tide. Robinson won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best lineman (2016) and was a First-team All-SEC performer (2016).
While he is studying technique and the changes in how the Jacksonville Jaguars practice on a daily basis, he is still taking it all in – and in the process gaining respect from his veteran teammates.
“Cam’s learning every single day and he’s getting better every single day,” said guard AJ Cann, who played in the SEC at South Carolina. “I see things that are impressive for a young dude.”