‘I don’t need to worry about No. 1. Ever.’ How Wan’Dale Robinson has changed UK.

Against New Mexico State on Saturday, Wan’Dale Robinson finished just 19 yards shy of becoming the second University of Kentucky player to finish with 200 receiving yards in a single game. It was the seventh time in three college seasons that Robinson finished with a triple-digit receiving total.

The first two came at Nebraska, with whom he signed in December 2018 after Scott Frost and the Cornhuskers flipped his commitment from UK a few weeks after he made it. He had 123 yards on seven catches in a win over Northwestern his freshman year and 114 yards on nine receptions in a win at Purdue last season.

Robinson broke his career high with 125 yards on just five catches in his UK debut against Louisiana Monroe. He caught two touchdowns against the Warhawks — the first and second TD receptions of his career — and has added five more over the Wildcats’ last seven games. He’s broken his career receiving record twice while seldom appearing in the backfield, a stark departure from his time in Lincoln.

“A lot of people, especially with me transferring, didn’t really want to tell me I could be a full-time receiver and do the things I’m doing now,” Robinson told reporters after his 181-yard day against the Aggies. “My old coach wanted to tell me that I wasn’t a receiver, so I just put my head down and worked since I got here in the spring and wanted to make the impact that I could.

“Now, luckily, things are paying off.”

Becoming a receiver

Robinson was an effective running back at Nebraska. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 46 touches last season against an all-Big Ten schedule, but grew tired of getting tackled by defensive ends. Much of his 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame is muscle, but he was still slighter than most running backs in college football.

A body has only so many years before it can’t take anymore hits, and like most athletes with legitimate pro potential, Robinson would like to spend as many of them as possible getting paid for the trouble. For players his size, the long-term outlook for receivers is much better, especially as NFL teams have started to covet shifty, slighter pass-catchers more in recent years.

It just wasn’t in the cards at Nebraska. Between that and getting to be closer to family, Kentucky was almost a no-brainer. Conversations with incoming offensive coordinator Liam Coen solidified the decision, which has been a boon for Robinson and the Wildcats.

While he’s not a perfect prospect — his route running and catch radius are things on which he’s most trying to improve says his father, Dale — Robinson has been an ideal fit for a Kentucky team that needed a spark in the passing game. He’s not the only reason UK has been able to achieve more balance on offense with Coen at the helm this season — fellow transfer Will Levis gave the Wildcats a look at quarterback it hasn’t had in some time — but he’s arguably the biggest.

“It’s ridiculous,” Coen said. “He comes in every week and already knows what the defense is doing because hes already studied. He studies on his own all the time, he’s sending you film all the time, sending you routes all the time. It’s all he does. It’s really fun because I came from guys who were like that in Los Angeles. To be here in a college setting, where the kid’s got a million other things to do with his time, it’s fun to be around him because he’s like those guys, Cooper (Kupp) and Robert (Woods) and Brandin Cooks from a personality standpoint. The care factor. The it factor. Toughness.

“There’s a couple days where he might not be able to practice as hard as he can, but I know every single Saturday, I don’t need to worry about No. 1. Ever.”

Heisman Trophy?

Robinson for so long was the best player on the field any time he took the field; he for a time was a wildcat quarterback at Western Hills High School, where he finished No. 2 all time in KHSAA scoring en route to Mr. Football honors. Playing with the ball in his hands most of the time, naturally, became second nature, and perhaps contributed to him getting pigeon-holed as a tailback in the Big Ten.

Learning to play without the ball has been his biggest area of growth at UK, and not just in terms of regularly getting open to catch it.

“He’s an unselfish player,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “He plays better than you think away from the ball when he’s not getting the ball. He plays hard. He’s selfless and is a good teammate.”

Robinson at the end of the season will face a tough decision: return to Kentucky, where he’s earned six-figure endorsement deals in the lead-up to becoming the school’s first 1,000-yard receiver in 11 years, or submit his name to the NFL Draft. If he grades out as a day-one or day-two prospect, there won’t be much of a call to make; he’ll be a one-and-done star for the Wildcats, and deserving of all the pats on the back on his way.

If he’s more of a borderline prospect, though, and came back? Maybe a wide receiver at the University of Kentucky could be a Heisman Trophy finalist. The thought was laughable as recently as last December; when you put yourself within breakable range of single-season school records held by James Whalen (receptions) and Craig Yeast (receiving yards), though, it doesn’t seem so crazy.

Whatever his future holds, Robinson has had a transformative effect on UK — this season and for the near future.

“He’s a huge ambassador,” Coen said. “ ... I don’t know what his grade will be when it comes to coming back. I do know that his impact will be left here for a while because of the standard that he sets every single day. That’s what we’re continuing to try and push, is that standard on offense. Defensively there’s been a very high standard here, and there’s been a very high standard when it comes to running the football here. That’s legitimate. But the practice habits, the meeting room habits, everything that we do — the standard needed to be elevated. He’s helped elevate that standard.”

Saturday

Kentucky at Louisville

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Records: Kentucky 8-3, Louisville 6-5

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Series: Kentucky leads 17-15

Last meeting: Kentucky won 45-13 on Nov. 30, 2019, in Lexington

In run-up to Cats-Cards, an unlikely source might have given UK a motivation boost

The John Clay Podcast: It’s Governor’s Cup Week

‘We’ll show ‘em some things.’ UK bringing players up to speed on U of L rivalry.

Kentucky’s going to Louisville fresh off a convincing win. What’s on the line?

Kentucky’s rout provides reasons for excitement — and fear — with Louisville up next