Wan'Dale Robinson, right, with running back Kavosiey Smoke. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Wan’Dale Robinson’s playmaking ability on the field is not really a surprise. He was a prolific playmaker at Western Hills High School where he ran for 6,795 yards and 97 touchdowns and had 781 career points, second-most in Kentucky history. He also caught 102 passes for 1,787 yards and 21 scores.
Robinson spent two years at Nebraska before transferring to Kentucky and had 91 catches for 904 yards and ran for 580 yards. However, he’s going to be more of a full-time receiver at UK because of his big-play capabilities.
But Robinson may have impressed UK coaches more with his approach to his daily work and effort to improve his skills.
“Doesn’t say ‘boo.’ He works, he works hard, he puts his head down, he works at his craft every day,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “You’ve heard me talk about that over the years with different players, everybody finds their voice at different times,
“I’m sure he will use his voice when he needs to at times and has. But he leads heavily by example as well, being a new guy coming in here, and he works very hard every day and really gets better, he improves.
“It’s amazing to see him, the way he sharpened his skill at wide receiver. We all know he is a talented guy with the ball in his hand but he’s really developing into a great wide receiver. He’s very talented but I love his work ethic.”
Stoops considers him a “wonderful young man” as well as a great player.
“He is very coachable. Sometimes a very dynamic player is not as coachable as others,” Stoops said. “But he works hard and is constantly taking the right medicine (coaching) and can take it to the field and apply it. He is fun to have on the team and we are thankful to have him.”
New offensive coordinator Liam Coen also has been more impressed with Robinson’s work ethic than anything else.
“The kid never dogs. He never loafs,” Coen said. “When you are that talented all those other things matter. Guys who do things the right way all the time are guys who end up making it and having a long career.
“He is easy to catch. He doesn’t make the same mistake multiple times. He is smart, energetic, the kind of kid you want in your program.”
