The Kentucky Wildcats landed one of the country’s most versatile players in the transfer portal this offseason with the addition of former Nebraska wideout Wan’Dale Robinson. In two seasons at Nebraska, Robinson totaled 91 receptions for 914 yards and three touchdowns while also logging 134 carries for 580 yards and four touchdowns.
During Tuesday’s SEC Media Day, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops raved about his newest addition to the team.
“It was good to have a good relationship with Wan’Dale,” Stoops said. “We recruited him extremely hard and tried to do all the right things and make it very difficult for him to say no to us, and that’s our job. It didn’t work out that way the first go-round, but it came back the second time, and very grateful to have him in our program.
“He’s a difference-maker. He’s a guy that was electric this spring, and you could feel his presence on the field. Very excited to have him on our team.”
CBS Sports college football analyst Barrett Sallee, who shared his SEC spring football overreactions, is expecting a huge season out of Robinson.
“The Nebraska transfer and Swiss Army Knife will be the ultimate playmaker in the SEC and vault Kentucky back into SEC East contention. As a result, he’ll put himself in the Heisman race and make a push for a spot in New York as a Heisman finalist. OK, that might be too much of an overreaction,” Sallee wrote. “But he was the buzz of the spring in Lexington, and when combined with dual-threat quarterback Joey Gatewood — who is a big-time threat running up-the-middle — this Wildcats offense could be extremely dangerous.”
Splitting time between running back and wide receiver at Nebraska, Robinson has been working exclusively out of the slot this spring.
“It just felt really good to see our offense in a real game atmosphere,” Robinson said this spring. “It was very encouraging. We were on the sidelines saying this could be really, really good. Especially going into the season. So we’re all really excited about it.”
Robinson received high praise from senior defensive end Josh Paschal, who’s seen no shortage of talent during his four-year UK career.
“He’s going to be the truth. I believe that,” Paschal said. “He’s a humble guy. My locker is right next to him so I talk to him a lot. Today, he had a hell of a play. He jumped up between two defenders and caught a post and I was like ‘Wow, he’s going to be a special player for sure.'”
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Robinson was ranked as the No. 5 transfer overall and No. 1 wide receiver in college football this offseason, according to 247Sports.
CatsPause.com’s Chris Fisher contributed to this report.
