This guy deserves some attention. I remember watching him as a true freshman in 2010 and thinking, man I can't wait until this guy eventually comes out. It won't happen in Miami because Jeff Ireland doesn't like small corners. But I think if any corner in this class has a chance of defying the odds and being the next Brent Grimes or Antoine Winfield, it's Nickell Robey of USC. Obviously at somewhere between 5'8" and 5'9" and about 170 lbs, you're looking at a nickel corner, at least on the outset. Antoine Winfield was 5085 and 175 lbs when he came out of school. Brent Grimes was 5091 and 177 lbs. We don't know what Nickell will be until he measures up at the Combine. He's just so incredibly quick, fast, fluid and explosive. But what I like best of all about him is his feistiness, his gamesmanship. FOUR times in his short 3 year career at USC, he had late game picks that either sealed or should have sealed the game. Most guys don't even get one of those. 1. In the 4th quarter against Utah this year (2012), Utah is down 31-21 with about 10 minutes left trying to get their first score in so they can try and come back, and Nickell Robey intercepts a ball, returns it 38 yards for the game-sealing score. And on the interception, the Utah QB was really just trying to throw the ball away at the feet of a screen back coming out of the backfield. Robey read the thing from a distance away and just broke on it like nobody's business, caught it on the run and didn't stop running til he was in the end zone. 2. And of course back in 2011, he did the same thing to Andrew Luck near the end of regulation on a play that Jon Gruden made fun of Luck for relentlessly during QB School. That should've been it. That should've been the end of the game. But Andrew Luck being who he is, he took the ball with like a minute remaining and brought his team all the way down the field and scored a game tying touchdown...putting the game into overtime. 3. That same year the Trojans are playing Notre Dame. Things got desperate for the Irish when Matt Barkley threw a touchdown to go ahead 14 points with only 8 minutes remaining, but the game wasn't over until Tommy Rees tried to go to Michael Floyd in single coverage with Nickell Robey on 3rd & 1, and Robey picked off the ball. 4. Back in his freshman year 2010, they played Arizona State to a wild finish. After a missed field goal by Arizona State, USC tries to run out the clock on the ground but fails to get a 1st down which gives Arizona State the ball back with only 22 seconds on their own 17 yard line needing a field goal to win. Very tough situation to come back from. But on 3rd & 1, Nickell Robey sealed it by picking Steven Threat off. It was essentially a hail mary, hoping for a completion and a penalty which would've allowed a field goal attempt, or maybe just hoping for the receiver to make a play and get the touchdown...but Robey sealed it. That's a closer. Robey has three pick-6's in his career. I like that. Here's a nice highlight video: [video=youtube;JsLBxb-jJuI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsLBxb-jJuI[/video] And here is a little bit better quality video highlight of just plays from 2011: [video=youtube;5IIJQFvJ1LY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IIJQFvJ1LY[/video] I'd rather draft this guy than Tyrann Mathieu.
I appreciate you sharing. I would love to comment but can't find any cut ups of his plays other than highlights. Heck, even draft breakdown has zero on this guy... Not even a profile write up. Just name, height and weight. Tough to form an opinion with a dude this far under the radar. I like what I'm hearing from you though, and I always make size exceptions if the guy has at least one other quality to a special degree (shuttle time, a knack for timely big plays, etc... Something that makes him worth the risk). You know, when I look at these kinds of prospects I think of the film Moneyball. Guys other teams won't touch because they don't look right or fit a template, but who can produce so you can get huge ROI for a low investment.
I'm not a subscriber that bigger is better when it comes to corners, especially if he's my nickel and I can get him in the third round, Robeys teammates love him, his coaches love him, offensive coaches schemed around him, I watched him play out here a lot, I haven't got to that point in the draft yet, but the kid is a gamer like CK said, he's not brandon flowers but he can anticipate really fast, if you notice his int's in the past, you"ll notice how quick he reacts which results in clean int's) he will tackle you with aggression, and he's got good burst in short areas, wanna see how he runs at the combine, but we have 5 picks in the first 82, and were gonna need a corner.
You know this is something I didn't realize, but at the end of the USC-Oregon game when Barkley scored the touchdown to bring them within 10 points with about 5.5 minutes left in the game and USC executed an onside kick, Nickell Robey made a HELL of a play on the ball to recover the thing in-bounds. The officials reviewed it and because they're blind as bats they didn't award it to him but I think everyone who puts that thing on slow-mo can see that Robey clearly grabbed the ball and had possession while he slid his knee on the ground before he went out. Incredible play at one of the most crucial moments in the ball game. That should have given Barkley a chance to score another touchdown and then they might not have even needed to onside kick the next kickoff. They could've used timeouts and then taken what was left of the clock (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) and gone for the tying field goal.
